Beneath Sovereign Skies
by Bobmin356
Summary: Harry and the dragons fight to find their place and gain acceptance amidst growing international tensions. Not all is well and good as the Weyrs threaten established powers and offer new opportunities. Follow Harry and the dragons as they try to navigate increasingly turbulent waters of international politics, terrorism and intrigue. Book 3 in the HP/Dragonrider series
1. Chapter 1

_**Standard Disclaimer:**_

"Hmmmm Tom Cruise, Sean Connery, Alan Rickman," Alyx muttered as she hunched over her desk.

"What are you doing?" Bob asked mildly after deliberately sneaking up on her.

Alyx screeched and jumped into the air. As she did she pulled a hammer and a running chain saw from her pockets. She landed and faced Bob, ready for combat. (Note to readers, Alyx is a trained professional and is quite handy with her chain saw. Do not attempt putting a running chain saw in your pocket unless you have passed your Zombie apocalypse survival course.)

"Don't do that!" she snarled whilst waving the chain saw under his nose.

Bob buffed his nails against his shirt and looked at her for a moment. "Impressive, but all I asked was what are you doing?"

"Casting decisions, this isn't easy you know."

Bob's brows furrowed. "Casting? You do know you're supposed to be writing a disclaimer telling people we don't own Harry Potter or Dragon Riders of Pern."

"Yeah but this is more important. I'm going to use that start up website, kickintheballs, to fund a movie based on my great Who who epic. Right now I'm trying to pick who will play Snape," Alyx retorted.

Bob frowned. "Did you get kicked in the head by a llama again? You know Alan Rickman would never stoop so low as to play Snape!"

Alyx paused to ponder and steam whistled from the hole in the back of her head that was strangely shaped like a llama hoof. "Hey that only happened once! Or twice. Er I forget, but that's not important now!"

"No what is important is that the story is about to begin and you're wasting time on silly stuff. And really? Tom Cruise? Who would hire that midget?"

"Now you're being mean!" Alyx exclaimed with a trembling lip. "You're just jealous because I'm going to be a famous director and fabulously wealthy."

"Might I remind you of your other schemes to be fabulously wealthy, how many seeing-eye llamas did you sell? And you're still in litigation over those steam powered adult toys. Or the..."

"Enough!" Alyx screamed. "Just start the chapter and I'll be good. Jeez, I didn't think a wheel chair pushed by a llama would be a problem. I had to do something with all those seeing-eye llamas we had in the house!"

Bob turned to the audience and smirked. "Presenting book three in the Harry Potter, Dragon Rider crossover. Enjoy the story folks!"

* * *

_**Beneath Sovereign Skies**_

**#10 Downing Street, London, August 15****th**** 1996...**

A buzzer distracted John Major from the report he was reading. He reached across his desk and pressed the intercom button on his phone. "Yes?"

"Baron Browne is here to see you sir," his secretary said.

_Damn,_ Major thought, _oh well, lets get this over with. I can't keep putting him off forever._

"Very well, send him in and then see we're not disturbed," Major replied.

Baron Edmund John Philip Browne was an independent member of the house of lords. As an independent he belonged to a small minority of Parliament that had not been brought to the Weyr back at the beginning of the year. The handful of independents had been left ignorant of dragons because it was felt that there was no one to keep them in line unlike the major parties.

Baron Edmund John Philip Browne was also the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of British Petroleum. A man who represented a company that stood to lose a lot if the dragons succeeded in powering the world.

The government had finally finished divesting itself of its interests in the company and Browne represented the first true CEO that held no ties to the government or the monarchy other than his own personal position as a member of the house of Lords. BP had control over much of the North Sea oil fields, and those were estimated to exceed the size of the Saudi oil fields by as much as twenty five percent. When it was discovered it was hailed as a boon for Britain, that is until people learned just how difficult off shore oil drilling could be in the North Sea.

Now many of the technical hurdles had been overcome, but it was still a difficult and dangerous place to drill for oil.

Major stood and smiled as the door opened. "Baron Browne, please do come in and sit," he said, offering a hand.

Browne shook his hand and sat down. It was obvious from his posture that he was not a happy man.

"Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for seeing me," Browne said. "I've wanted to meet with you for a while now..."

He trailed off when Major shook his head and held up a hand. "I know why you're here Baron. And I am going to tell you the same thing that President Clinton told the CEO of Exxon. The dragons represent a source of renewable, sustainable energy that has little impact upon the environment. It is the position of Her Majesty's government that their impact on the economy of the United Kingdom will far exceed the discovery of oil in the North Sea and it will last a lot longer than your oil fields will. We are not unsympathetic to the plight now faced by your company and others. But the government feels you are looking at this totally wrong."

Browne gripped the arms of his chair tightly. He was angry, his in-house analysts were practically gibbering in fear about the impact of the dragons on the company and he had this politician tell him he was looking at it wrong? Browne arched a single eyebrow and Major knew he was angry. It was Major's job to get the man to see reason and opportunity. "Oh?" Browne said tightly.

"Baron, BP is currently in a cash rich position and it will be many years before dragons have a significant impact on your balance sheets. We both know there will always be a need for petroleum products. And it could take two decades or more before a dragon powered car becomes a reality, so petrol isn't an issue. Lubricating products will be untouched by dragons, the same can be said for many plastics.

"So we are looking at dragons impacting oil that is used for power generation, and perhaps downstream petrol for vehicles."

Browne looked startled at that. No one had mentioned petrol to him, or even talked about hot rock powered vehicles.

"It seems to us, and the American government agrees, that now would be the time for you and Exxon to reposition your businesses while you still have the surplus money to make such a move. The dragons stand to affect a great many industries and right now there are only two groups taking advantage of that."

Browne blinked in surprise and leaned forward in his chair. He had come here to complain about what the dragons would do to one of the largest companies in the UK and the Prime Minister was clearly saying that things weren't as bad as he thought.

"What two groups?" he asked with interest.

Major smiled, _welcome to my web my lord Baron,_ he thought. "The Weyr is producing hot rocks and a holding company that is currently jointly owned by the Weyr and the British government. Dragon Services Ltd is a research and development company as well as a patent holding company. Her Majesty's government will be selling it's shares of Dragon Services back to the Weyr until it becomes totally Weyr owned. In the meantime DSL will be licensing technologies and creating sub-divisions under the main parent company."

Major leaned back in his chair and looked pointedly at Browne. "The Weyr has the power source my lord Baron and they will take part in developing new technologies to utilize those sources. But they lack the industrial and manufacturing capacity to turn those technologies into a reality. It will be years before the Weyr has any significant manufacturing capability, if ever. They will need partners, partners willing to help them forge a new world."

Major extended a hand and pointed at Browne. "It seems to me that a forward thinking company with cash to spare might be enticed into examining new business opportunities that the dragons offer. Oil, sir, was the power source that fueled us through two world wars and a cold war. But the century is coming to a close and dragon power is going to fuel the world through the next century. Whole new technologies are going to be created or reinvented to work with dragon power."

Browne leaned back in his chair and considered what Major said. It was true that every oil company in the world took a very brief hit in their stock the day after the dragon-kind was announced to the world, but the stock quickly rebounded as investors realized that dragons represented a long term impact on the industry. The short term impact was barely noticeable.

"Do you truly believe that?" he finally asked.

Major nodded. "I do, and so does my successor."

"Successor?" exclaimed Browne.

"Mr. Blair is quite capable and even more enthusiastic about dragons than I am, if that is possible. I daresay one of his first moves will be to provide a substantial one time tax break for any company that is willing to invest in dragon power," Major said a bit wistfully. "Her Majesty has asked that I give the Weyr priority even over my own reelection."

Browne shook his head in amazement. The Prime Minister had all but admitted he was throwing the election at the request of the Queen.

"Prime Minister, my analysts are certain that we'll see substantial drops in oil sales," he said, trying a different tack.

"In the long run, yes you will, but I would bet you, you won't see any substantial drop in revenue for a decade at least. You're no fool Baron, you know power plants can't be built over night. Most countries will phase out the old plants over the course of a decade or two or longer. The real issue is knowing that eventually, ten or twenty years from now, you'll start feeling a pinch. Knowing that, what will you do to prevent it? I can put you in touch with the Weyr leadership right now and offer my own personal endorsement. But consider your options carefully Baron. It won't be long before my opinion will be only as valuable as any other private citizen."

Major leaned back and watched the man carefully. He wasn't about to brush the man off, but he couldn't allow a company that brought as much revenue as BP did to become complacent. Nor was he about to admit that the Weyr did place a high value on his opinion. It was something that Lord Mills had revealed to him and he considered himself honored by it.

Right now what he needed was for Baron Browne to do the smart thing and commit to expanding their business into areas other than petroleum products.

Browne stood abruptly. "Prime Minister, I came here with the intent to point out how much damage the dragons could do to British Petroleum, and in turn how much that could hurt our economy. Instead you put me on the defensive and then proceed to tell me how to run my company!"

Major shrugged at the man. "Baron Browne, all I did was lay out your own arguments and explained one way to avoid them. There are others, you could sink a lot of money into making oil cheaper but we both know that's only a short term patch to the problem and you'll never achieve cost parity with the Hot Rocks. You could increase your plastics production and I'm certain you will do that, but again, plastics alone won't ride BP over the rough spots."

Major paused and heaved a sigh, then he looked pointedly at Browne. "Good god man, right now you have a golden opportunity. I've pointed it out to you, Mister Blair will probably repeat the government's position when he assumes this office. If you fail to take advantage of the opportunity, then you have no one but yourself to blame.

"In a very short time the Weyr will be seeking partners that can turn their patents and research into real life products. Your decision my dear Baron is do you sit on the sidelines knowing that to do so would hurt your company or do you actively grab the opportunity the Weyr is offering?"

Browne nodded stiffly. He was unused to not getting his way and it wasn't helping that Major was pointing out a valid business path for BP to take. "I will consult with my own analysts and see what they have to say about this," he said curtly.

"I do hope you'll take this seriously Baron, there are other companies from the continent that are starting to sniff out these opportunities and frankly I would rather see them go to a British company," Major offered in a conciliatory tone, then to sweeten the deal he added. "I'll also recommend to Mr. Blair that any such British companies that do join forces with the dragons, be granted a tax break for the first ten years to offset research and start up costs."

Baron Browne nodded, somewhat mollified, but still not completely convinced. "I will contact you within a week no matter what we decide," he said, then he turned and left the room.

_He's a stubborn one,_ Major thought, _but in the end he'll come around. This is too important to his company and to the nation to let it slide._

**Kitchen Hall, Campbeltown Weyr, 1996 November 1****st****...**

A very relieved Harry entered the Kitchen hall. One very big problem was finally behind them. For two solid months the Weyr had been engaged in negotiations with British Petroleum, but that was past them now. BP had come to the Weyr near the end of August in an attempt to see where they could find opportunities. BP had gone away happy, they had decided to apply themselves to an area that was totally new to them, and very basic to all hot rock applications. They were going to do research and design into heat transfer chambers which are required in all hot rock applications. There was a clear need for transfer chambers ranging from boxcar size down to the size of a small toaster and no one was currently working on that.

That meant a substantial cash infusion to the Weyr which made Karen Khan happy. For Harry, it was an end to an ordeal which resulted in his being pulled into the negotiations several times a week. And that was something he had wanted to avoid. The press announcement of the deal between the Weyr and BP actually resulted in a small but noticeable rise in the value of BP's stock.

BP was officially on-board and still looking around at other possible opportunities to explore, but the initial hump was past and both parties now knew they could work together.

And now that BP was behind Harry, he intended to deal with another problem that had been adding to his daily stress.

His eyes narrowed when he spotted one particular person, but she wasn't the one he was looking for yet. No now he needed help that only two people in particular could provide.

Luna had barged in on him this morning when he opted to use the showers in the weyr locker room after his morning jog, rather than walk back to his quarters. She had been teasing him heavily lately, trying to get a rise out of him and he thought he had been doing well ignoring her antics. This morning however she had upped the ante and now he wanted a real payback in the time honored marauder tradition.

Seeing May and Hermione off to one corner, heads together, looking over some kind of catalog. He quickly filled his tray and walked over to them.

Sitting down he placed his tray on the table and leaned a little closer. "Loves, I need some help."

Both girls looked up in surprise. It was not something that Harry readily admitted and usually when he did, it was already a very dire situation.

"With what?" asked Hermione anxiously.

Harry leaned closer and glanced over at his problem, then back to the others. "Luna," he whispered.

Both girls frowned and glanced over at Luna who was in a deep conversation with Susan Bones. They knew that as long as Luna was distracted they'd be okay talking about her. But the minute she was free she would know someone was talking about her. Both girls knew that Luna had been teasing Harry about joining their little group, but neither understood just how uncomfortable it was making Harry.

"She stormed into the locker room this morning with some silly question that could have waited. I had just finished getting dressed, but had she been two minutes earlier, I would have been naked," Harry hissed.

"Harry," May said soothingly, "she's just teasing you. She probably knew you were dressed by that point."

"I know, but what about next time? Look she's always teasing that she's going to ask you two if she can join us. I don't want to hurt her feelings, but it's starting to make me uncomfortable. I think it's time to turn the tables on her," Harry said. "I have an idea to stop it. All I ask is you two just play along with me. I don't want to add anyone to what we have now."

May and Hermione exchanged a look between them, then they nodded. Both girls were interested in seeing what Harry had in mind. Luna was a devilishly hard target and if Harry had a plan, it was sure to be amusing even if it backfired on him. "Excellent," Harry said, then he pulled two small pads from his pockets and handed one to each of them. "Follow me and just play along with what I say."

Puzzled and more than a bit intrigued the two girls rose and followed Harry as he walked over to where Luna and Susan sat talking animatedly about Susan's design for the apartment block.

"Excuse me Sue, do you mind if we talk to Luna for a moment?" Harry asked politely.

Susan looked up in surprise. "No, not at all. Should I leave?"

"No. That won't be necessary," Harry said with a smile. "I'm sure this won't take long."

Luna looked up at Harry, May and Hermione and her eyes narrowed speculatively. "How can I help you three?"

"How tall are you Luna?" asked Harry.

She blinked and tilted her head slightly. By now the tables around them fell silent as people realized something was up. "I'm five foot four inches tall, why?"

Harry glanced at her. "Really? I didn't guess that tall," he murmured, and then he turned to Hermione. "Better write that down. We'll definitely need a bigger bed then, and maybe increase the size of the tub again. I don't think it's big enough for four."

Hermione pulled out the pad that Harry had given her and produced a pen from a pocket.

Luna stared at Harry. "What are you talking about?"

Harry smiled and reached out; he gently ran a finger down her cheek. "You've wanted to join our little group so we're trying to determine what we'll have to change to bring you in. Hermione here had a question. Oh yes I remember, would you say that during love making you can overpower a standard silencing charm? You do know they are graded by amount of sound they dampen, don't you?"

"Do you mind sleeping across the bottom of the bed Luna?" asked May, getting into the act. "I suppose we could rotate positions, but normally I've got the left side and Hermione's got Harry's right."

Hermione nodded and looked sad. "That only leaves the feet for you I'm afraid, but Harry's feet don't smell that bad, he washes them at least once a week. And Dobby does insist that he wear clean socks daily, although Harry could clip his toenails more often. May and I both wash our feet every night."

By now the hall was dead silent except for Sirius and Remus who were struggling to maintain their composure. All eyes were turned towards Luna's table and the three that were finally getting some payback on Luna.

"Silencing charms?" Luna asked weakly.

Hermione nodded. "Harry is quite good, I didn't think I'd need them myself, but he quickly proved me wrong. Normally we use silencio regina, but I suppose we could try a silencio imperato if need be."

May nodded. "Even with the charm in place the house vibrates. It's kinda sexy," she added dreamily, "makes me wish it were my turn."

Both spells were well known, but rarely used by anyone except under special circumstances. Most people found a simple silencio adequate for all human activities. The more powerful spells were for controlling the noise of large crowds or animals.

"Do you have any preferred positions? We might need a firmer mattress if you want something a little more exotic," May continued. "Sirius is always going on about doggy style, but our mattress handles that just fine."

"We did have to put a sticking charm on the bed to keep it from bouncing along the floor," Hermione observed aloud and then she blushed slightly.

"And cushion the ceiling with those spells when you wanted to try the weightless charms," May added.

Harry shook his head and smiled at the two girls. "I still can't believe we made a hole in the ceiling that one time. Good thing Dobby knows how to fix plaster. Anyway, with Luna joining in we might be able to use the ropes properly."

"Oh I hope so, I had rope burns in places no woman should have," Hermione murmured.

Luna stared at Hermione, and then turned to Harry. Her face turned beet red from the tips of her ears straight down her body. She wore a simple blouse with a small vee-neck and it was plain that her blush continued south well past that neckline. Harry leaned forward and gave her a bit of a leer. "You look like a screamer," he softly. In the silence of the hall his voice still carried and it was enough to push Sirius over the edge. He broke out in laughter and fell off his chair, which caused May to start giggling.

Almost immediately the whole hall was laughing and Luna was blushing even more heavily than before. Luna stared up at Harry, then looked around and she suddenly realized what was going on.

"Oh I get it. Payback," she said, then she smiled. "Be careful Weyrleader, paybacks work both ways."

"True," Harry said with a smile. "But I suppose I could always ask Trandieth to warn me about your plans. You know you can't hide anything from her. And while she's your dragon, she wouldn't hold anything back if I asked."

Luna froze and Harry knew she was having a quick conversation with her dragon. "Oh poo," she finally murmured. "Betrayed by my own dragon."

That sent the entire hall into another fit of laughter. Harry leaned down and kissed Luna's cheek, then he whispered in her ear. "I am very happy in my relationship. But I can always use a sister."

Luna smiled brightly. "A sister teases worse than a lover Harry."

He smiled back, "Perhaps but a sister also earns paybacks that a lover might not."

He straightened out and turned to his ladies. "Shall we go back to our table?"

The three left Luna sitting at her table, still blushing brightly; Susan was chortling merrily at her color. At another table Remus was trying to get Sirius back in his seat, he had fallen out of it and was still laughing on the floor.

At a nearby table Dan Granger had fingers in his ears and was humming loudly to the consternation of his wife. He didn't want to know about his daughter's love life.

Later that same day May flipped the switch that opened the huge hangar doors on the infirmary. Hagrid stood nearby, beaming a huge smile. Behind them stood Lornth, his eyes twirling anxiously, streaked heavily with black and yellow.

All three paused in surprise when the doors opened to reveal most of the riders and the dragons of Campbeltown standing silently, waiting for them.

Harry stepped forward. "I know this is only a simple test you're conducting May, but we wanted to be here. For Lornth."

Lornth sucked in a loud breath and several nearby dragons crooned encouragingly. May nodded and walked Lornth up a small ramp to a platform about six feet high. They had been extensively exercising his wings since August and this would be the first attempt to use them in a flight condition, even if it was a simple glide. Lornth would have a running start and then leap off the platform to glide to the ground. Or that was the plan.

Harry climbed the platform behind May and Lornth and he went over to the large dragon and spoke quietly with him for a few moments. As he did Lornth's anxiety lessened and green started to replace the black and yellow lights twirling in his eyes.

Harry stepped back and nodded to May. She stepped forward. "Alright, Lornth, lets do this just like we talked about."

"_Alright Weyrhealer May,"_ replied the dragon. Lornth then slowly extended his wings. Harry examined the dragon's wings with a critical eye. He could tell they weren't one hundred percent straight but May had managed a masterful job of healing the wings. Lornth had been seriously injured during the attack on the Hogsmeade school and had spent months in the infirmary attached to a traction frame while his wing bones healed.

Lornth flapped his wings a few times and his front paws lifted off the ground. "Lornth," May cautioned. "Let's do this slowly please?"

The dragon settled his front paws on the platform again and looked at May and nodded. He didn't want to spend any more time in the infirmary. _"I'm ready to try this Weyrhealer May,"_ he said.

"Alright, remember this is just a short flight to get a feel for your wing strength. If I see you attempt anything other than that I'll have you back in your stall for another month," May said sternly.

The large dragon bowed his head and nodded again.

Lornth extended his wings again and ran along the short platform. It was barely a full dragon length long but it was long enough. He flapped his wings a few times and then lifted his legs so that he was airborne. He glided off the edge of the platform and flapped a few more times to continue his glide for about one hundred feet. From Harry's position it was obvious that he was straining and growing tired. Finally he came to a landing. He stopped and turned around to look at May and Harry on the platform, then he reared up on his hind legs and trumpeted his happiness to the sky! He was well along the road to flying again and the whole Weyr knew it.

The dragons joined with Lornth bellowing their joy, then twenty riders converged on Lornth, carrying buckets of warmed oil and stiff bristle brushes. Harry jumped down from the edge of the platform and then he turned and helped May get down. The pair walked over to Lornth who was practically moaning in delight over the rubbing down he was getting.

"Very good Lornth, I told you you could do it," May said happily.

The dragon turned to May, his eyes heavy drowsiness. _"I couldn't have done it at all without the Weyr's help. Without you and your __sire__ I would have gone Between."_

May blushed slightly, but she pushed that aside. "How are you feeling?"

"_Tired and my wings ache. I see why you have been making me exercise so hard now."_

"Yes, you still have more work to do. But now you know you can fly again, you just have to work at it. I want you to stay in the infirmary for a few more days, but by the weekend you can return to your regular bed in Hangar five. Your primary duty until I say so will be to return to the infirmary everyday so we can exercise those muscles."

"_Yes Weyrhealer,"_ Lornth replied.

"He will work at it," Harry said firmly. "He is a Campbeltown dragon and they are the best dragons in the world."

Around them the other dragons thrummed in approval. Harry turned towards where Spath and Chekiath sat. "Spath, please pass the word to the others. Let everyone know that we will try to heal any dragon. We won't always succeed, but if the non-bonded dragons know, perhaps they won't be so willing to jump Between."

Spath looked at Harry, then he glanced over towards Lornth who was nearly asleep from the brushing he was getting then he turned back to Harry. _"It is a difficult thing Weyrleader, but I will tell the others. Perhaps it will save some. Our memories tell us that between rider and dragon there was a great bond. But you have introduced a new bond of family. It is an alien idea, but one which I like."_

"You are family Spath," May said firmly. "You might not have a rider, but all of us love you like we love our dragons."

Spath turned his gaze to May, his eyes were heavily streaked with green. _"I will pass the word among the dragons,"_ he replied a bit bashfully. These humans were different from the Pern humans. They were more open about their feelings and willing to include all dragons. Pern humans were more reserved and they would defend and protect all dragon kind but would rarely acknowledge any sort of bond between themselves and another dragon other than their own.

Spath looked around a bit wistfully, these humans were changing dragon attitudes about a great many things and he approved of the changes that he saw. Unfortunately his time was growing shorter with every passing day and he knew it would not be long before he would have to make the trip Between. It saddened him to know he would not live to see the Weyrleader bring mankind and dragon-kind together, but he was certain Harry would succeed.

Chekiath, sensing Spath's melancholy turned and crooned softly to him. Spath eyed the big dragon and pulled his ears back in a dragon version of a smile. Chekiath didn't know what was bothering the Elder dragon, but he'd try to talk to him later about it. Right now the Weyr wanted to celebrate Lornth's recovery.

**Harry's Office Campbeltown Weyr, December 1****st****, 1996...**

Harry looked up from the textbook he was reading when Major Atkins knocked at his door. "Harry, I'm sorry to disturb your study time but do you have a moment for some visitors?"

He smiled when he saw Alejandro Croaker and Arthur Weasley standing behind her. Weasley looked a little uncomfortable, but that could have been because there were two armed men escorting them.

"Yes, come on in," He said, then he placed a marker in his book and closed it.

"I didn't know your wards were adjusted to redirect apparations," Croaker said a bit gruffly.

Harry smiled thinly. "Apparations and portkeys still work, they just arrive in our security office. Interest in the Weyr is considerable and Draco wanted to learn about warding as part of his job handling the magical security of the Weyr under Sirius. He and Remus Lupin adjusted the wards so that all apparations appear in our security office. Portkeys as well. You can apparate from anywhere within the Weyr, but everyone arrives via the main gate where they can sign in, including our magical visitors. Since then Draco has been learning warding from Sirius Black and a tutor we hired via Gringotts."

Draco understood he was at a disadvantage when it came to muggle schooling, so he had spoken to Harry and it was decided that they would arrange for him to train under some of Gringotts best warders after he had taken his A levels and NEWTs. In the meantime Sirius and Remus would help him as he worked under Black, examining the wards and improving upon the original work that Albus and Remus had put in place. If Harry had his way, Draco would oversee the implementation of wards for every Weyr in the world, manned or unmanned.

Harry had dropped a few hints to Draco about warding as a possible career choice and he had leaped at the opportunity.

Croaker grunted sourly and nodded. He didn't like the Weyr restricting access like this. He made a note to himself to see about sending someone out to perform a covert analysis on the wards. Before the old ministry fell to the muggles, his department routinely analyzed wards around the country covertly and he felt that understanding the Weyr's wards might someday benefit the ministry.

"Arthur, how is Percy?" Harry asked.

Arthur smiled broadly. "He's mostly recovered and back to work Harry, thank you for asking. He's been stepping out with Penelope Clearwater. Molly expects them to announce their engagement soon."

Harry nodded, he was glad to hear Percy was doing better. "Good, good to hear about that Arthur. So gentlemen, how can the Weyr help you?" asked Harry, getting down to business.

Arthur and Alejandro exchanged a look, and then Arthur looked at Harry. The elder Weasley was decidedly uncomfortable with the topic he was about to bring up. "Harry, we've had some complaints."

"Complaints?" Harry echoed mildly. In his stall, attached to Harry's office, Chekiath opened his eyes and watched intently.

"At first we thought it wasn't a problem, but the Weyr helped themselves to twelve students this past October; eight of them from a single hedge academy. The situation at that particular academy is now acute, they are unsure there will be enough students for them to continue operating. They were a small school to begin with; with less than forty students, but this year you've taken nearly half their students," Arthur said uncomfortably.

"One moment," Harry said calmly, and then he turned to Chekiath. "Cheki would ask Karen to come here to explain her population analysis?"

"_Yes Harry."_

Harry turned back to the two wizards and his expression turned serious. "I'm afraid that your problem runs much deeper than anyone at the Ministry of Magic realizes. Last year I asked a few questions that Albus couldn't answer, so I had Karen Khan look into it for me. With help from Albus and help from the Americans we put together a picture that is rather disturbing. The only reason why we haven't told anyone about this is we weren't sure who to tell. We were going to inform Albus, but well…"

Harry trailed off for a moment and for a brief instant he deeply missed the old man. He shook from his pensive mood and continued speaking. "Karen Khan is a bit of a genius when it comes to mathematics. I know this might sound confusing at first, but I'll ask you to listen carefully to her."

"Mathematics?" Croaker said uncertainly. He knew what math was, but he couldn't see how it related to the Weyr depleting the wizarding society of their young.

The door opened and Karen stepped into the room. Croaker frowned to himself, the girl was clearly Asian in descent and from her dress, he suspected, a muggle, not even a squib!

"Yes mathematics," Harry replied. "I know Albus was working on some population initiatives, how well is that going?"

Arthur looked pained. "It looked really promising for a while, but then interest in the idea seemed to wane. We realize that we need more people but a number of departments within the Ministry are balking at some of the proposed solutions. And several department heads point out that we have many thousands of wizards in Great Britain. It will be a long time before this is a problem if ever. Given that, we tabled the initiative in favor of other, more important projects."

Harry frowned and motioned towards Karen.

"Karen, these gentlemen arrived here today to complain that one of the hedge academies may be forced to close thanks to our taking eight of their students," Harry said, then he turned to his guests and his tone turned downright frigid. "And gentlemen, _I will remind_ you that each student was asked if they would like a chance to impress a dragon. We carefully explained what that meant to their lives and what it meant in terms of personal relationships. I remember it quite clearly, we spoke with nine people from that school and one declined our offer. We did not 'help ourselves' to those students, they came of their own free will and have already impressed dragons, again of their own free will. No Weyr will take anyone against their will, not while I'm Weyrleader."

Harry stood from his desk and motioned to Karen to take his chair. "Karen please show our guests what you discovered about the Wizard population here in the United Kingdom," he added in a gentler tone.

Karen nodded and sat down. With a few deft clicks on Harry's keyboard she called up the appropriate spreadsheet from the file server and then swiveled the monitor around so they could see the screen. "You gentlemen might want to rethink your position in regard to your population. Your school is struggling not because we removed some students, it is struggling because your society is in a serious population decline that has been ignored for far too long.

"For years you've been chasing first born wizards and witches back into regular society or out of Britain entirely while at the same time your society's birthrate has not been keeping up with your death rate. Sometime during the mid fifties your population achieved a threshold called ZPG or zero population growth. That means the number of births equal the number of deaths. I can't say why you hit ZPG, but the numbers speak for themselves. For nearly five years your population stayed essentially static, then around 1960 there was a jump in the number of deaths while the birth rate remained steady."

Arthur and Alejandro looked at each other. "Voldemort," Croaker said.

Arthur closed his eyes and nodded unhappily. Everyone had lost family during Voldemort's rise to power.

Karen looked at the two men and Arthur motioned for her to continue. "With an increasing death rate and a flat birth rate your population started a decline from the pre-second world war high of roughly ninety two thousand. According to Albus, the war itself accounted for less than three thousand magical deaths, but most of them were young men and women. Additionally the numbers started to work against you. The number of people capable of having children shrank and the death toll continued to increase.

"Albus once told me that there were roughly seventy thousand wizards in Britain, which means a twenty three percent loss of population in less than fifty years.

"Harry informs me that most wizarding families these days only have one child. As a precaution I asked several of the other wizards we have as riders and most of them come from single child households. Right now your death rate out paces the birth rate. Within a century wizarding Britain could cease to exist if steps aren't taken."

Alejandro and Arthur leaned forward and eyed the figures on the screen carefully. "This can't be right," Arthur said. "We have plenty of children."

"Do you?" asked Karen a bit skeptically.

"Karen," Harry said with a bit of embarrassment, "Mr. Weasley has seven children."

Karen nodded. "Well my question still stands. Mr. Weasley may represent a statistical anomaly but how many other families have had only one child? Draco Malfoy is an only child, so is Luna Lovegood and Susan Bones or Millicent Bulstrode. This appears to be typical for Wizarding households. And then there are the first born children like Hermione Granger. How many more magical children would there be if you didn't chase the first born back into normal society or out of the country?"

Alejandro and Arthur leaned back in their chairs thunderstruck by the questions. They looked at each other and thought about the people they knew. Karen had dropped an angry kneazle in their laps and they didn't know how to respond to it.

"Is it like this elsewhere?" Croaker asked suddenly.

Karen shook her head. "I asked myself that same question. Now mind you I don't have access to a lot of records, but Jasper Brady of the US Department of Magic was able to get me data for the United States and I have seen similar data for Canada."

She tapped a few keys and the screen changed with new data. "As you can see the US and Canada are maintaining a steady growth rate of roughly one point four five people per death. It isn't a lot of growth, and it is lower than the mundane population growth rate, but it is growth whereas here in the UK we're seeing nearly two deaths for every child born."

Finally she called up a new chart. "This is the projected growth of the Weyr once we start having children of our own. You'll note that the number of magical children will eventually grow to represent a sizable minority of riders."

She turned and looked at Harry. "Our own Doctor Sheppard informed me his wife is pregnant again, that will make their second child. Doctor Sheppard is a wizard and his wife is not magical. So far his daughter is a witch and there is good reason to believe the new baby will be magical as well.

"Wizards have certain innate advantages over mundanes, but a wizard/mundane pairing will almost always produce more magical children than a pure wizard pairing and that's not factoring in the multiple partnerships like Harry has.

"Where normal society reflects a ratio of roughly one wizard in a thousand, our closed society will experience a gain in wizards so that we'll probably have higher percentage. That is largely due to the fact that we'll start with a larger pool of wizards to begin with and we have a smaller population with a greater wizard to mundane ratio."

Harry nodded, May had filled him in on this part, plus she had privately admitted that she hoped his magical genes would be strong enough to carry through to their children. She was a little envious of the ability and very grateful that none of the magical riders tried to make the others feel less than their equals. In that respect Harry had set a very strong example for the magical riders and they were following it very closely.

"I'll add that it is unlikely any of the magical children in the Weyr will be schooled at any magical school unless they specifically ask for it. We'll leave that option open to them, but I suspect that any Weyr children will want to stay at the Weyr and impress as soon as possible." Harry added.

"Given what we do know about the British wizard population, in the coming years we'll be searching magical communities other than the United Kingdom for our magical riders. We already have permission from the Irish and the French and we're in talks with Germany, Norway and Sweden."

"This is a disaster," Arthur whispered. "What can we do?"

"Raise public awareness about the problem and get the government firmly behind a program to fix it. And most of all, stop chasing out the new magical people," Karen said succinctly.

Both men looked at her in confusion and Harry chuckled. He placed a hand on her shoulder and looked at the two men. "Karen is best at what she does, but she is so used to working with numbers and explaining things to people that understand her. She often has to explain things three or more times before I understand her."

He smiled at her to soften his words and let her know he wasn't criticizing her then he turned back to the two Ministry men. "First thing you do is stop the bleeding, make it illegal to discriminate against first born witches and wizards and enforce those laws. Hire them at the ministry and treat them equally. Once the ministry is welcoming the first born you want to make other businesses do the same. You want them to stay in the wizarding world or at least be willing to straddle both worlds. Enact laws that punish any employer that discriminates against the first born and half bloods."

Arthur nodded, this was exactly what he was making happen in the Ministry now. They had made it illegal to discriminate by bloodlines, but hiring non-pure bloods even at the ministry had been slow going.

"And the next thing?" asked Croaker.

"This is going to be the really hard part. You need to tell the public what the problem is, but you can't do that and just expect them to start popping out more kids. No you have to make it worthwhile to have more children. Offer them an incentive, or decreased taxes for every child they have. The government makes education up to grade twelve mandatory, but what comes after that? Most countries have programs set up to help their young adults find careers and placement within their society. Only here in the UK are the new graduates expected to find their own paths without help.

"One of the most common complaints I hear is that your society is stagnant. When was the last new spell created by a British Wizard? When was the last new potion invented? This stagnation comes from an almost pathological fear of change. Change can be frightening, but no change is a sure fire disaster in the making. If you don't advocate change, then nothing you do will save you as a society. Eventually the pure bloods will die out and the only ones left will be half-bloods and first born who will owe no allegiance to your society because you gave them none."

"Set up an institute of higher learning that graduating Hogwarts or other school students can attend. Offer incentives to businesses that are willing to take on apprentices, or spend time and money researching magic. Encourage new ideas and spell creation. There are a whole host of things you can do if only you look around and see what some other countries are doing. Look at America or Germany or even Ireland and see how they have set up things to help their graduates become productive members of a magical society. Ireland for example has a society of Potioneers that actively researches new potions. What does Britain have? Nothing."

Harry leaned up against the side of his desk and folded his arms, watching the two wizards.

"You sound like Sir William," Croaker said. He was not entirely pleased with what he was hearing. He and Arthur thought they would be able to come here to tell the Weyr that they couldn't take anymore wizards and instead discover that their way of life was in danger because of their own complacency.

Harry shrugged. "I don't know Sir William very well, but my tutors in politics and diplomacy all come from similar backgrounds like Sir William's. Just because I sound like someone from Whitehall doesn't mean I do what they tell me."

Karen turned Harry's monitor back around and stood from his desk. He nodded to her and murmured a quiet thank you; then she slipped from the room. "Mr. Croaker, I am not your enemy even if you dislike the information I have given you. In the coming years the Weyr _will be asking_ a small amount of British wizarding teens to join us."

Harry gestured to an oddly colored map that Hermione had placed on his wall. There was a sheet of clear plastic over the map which someone had colored different colors. "That map shows the countries which have manned Weyrs and the countries we expect to convert to manned Weyrs by the year 2000.

"Britain stands to fall behind the other Weyrs in terms of magical riders simply because we have so few viable candidates. This year we'll be searching Ireland and France for candidates, they have no dragon reserves to build a Weyr from. We'll be searching several of the European countries because there are no wizarding candidates to be had here.

"America and Canada combined have nearly a million adult wizards and three hundred thousand magical children. Meanwhile you struggle to fill less than twenty schools. Hogwarts is running at less than half capacity and no one thought to say anything about all those empty class rooms? That alone should have been grounds for alarm.

"You can take the information we showed you and go back to your ministry and do nothing. But you know where that will lead you, or you can take the information we have, examine it for yourself and do something about it."

Croaker nodded sullenly and glanced over at Arthur who smiled encouragingly. Arthur turned back to Harry. "Will you share that information with us?" he asked.

"Of course," replied Harry easily.

Arthur reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card which he passed to Harry. "Have Miss Khan send me her information. My email address is on the card," he said proudly.

Harry took the card with a smile and carefully pocketed it to give to Karen later, and then he turned back to Croaker.

"Mr. Croaker, I know that you don't like the idea of one of Britain's few mages not participating in your society, but I believe that I'm doing something very important here. Important enough that it will benefit the entire world, not just one tiny piece of it. Like it or not, Britain's wizarding society is only a small fraction of the wizarding world, which in turn is a small fraction of the whole world. I'm trying to help the whole world and I am not your enemy," Harry said softly.

Croaker sighed and tiredly wiped at his face. "I know, it's just that I see so much potential."

Chekiath lifted his head in his stall and craned his neck so that his huge head entered the office. _"I saw Harry's potential from the moment I met him, and he is trying to help everyone. Harry could have been a __famous __wizard, but as Weyrleader he will be someone that the whole world will __respect__ and remember. __His potential will benefit everyone, not just wizards.__"_

Arthur chuckled lightly and glanced at Croaker in amusement. He didn't really understand why the man got so on edge whenever the subject of the Weyrleader came up. He wasn't bothered by dragons, but whenever the Weyrleader was the topic he seemed to simmer with resentment. "You can't argue with that endorsement Alejandro," Arthur said, "and when you consider it's the largest dragon in the country saying it, well I'm not going to argue with him. He could bite me in two."

"_We don't eat our friends sir,"_ Chekiath replied. _"And Harry does think of you and your family as __good __friends."_

Harry raised a hand and Chekiath moved his head so his rider could rub his eye ridges. "Mr. Croaker are we good now?"

Croaker nodded and stood. "We should be getting back to the office. We need to verify your information."

"I'll have Karen email copies of her data to your office," Harry offered.

Croaker grunted in acknowledgment and turned to the door. Arthur moved to follow him, then he stopped and turned back to Harry. "Harry, perhaps you'd come and visit us over the holidays? Ron and Ginny will be there, so will the twins. Bring both of your girls, you'll be welcome."

Harry smiled gently at the man. "I'll speak to Hermione and May about it. We have a scheduled meeting in New York later this month and I know we've been invited to a Boxing Day celebration at Buckingham Palace. Perhaps around New Years?"

Arthur blinked in surprise, then he nodded. He and Molly would also be attending that celebration at the Palace, but he hadn't known Harry would be there. "Just let us know, we'd be happy if you'd join us for dinner one evening. It won't be anything fancy, just family."

"Thank you Arthur," Harry replied with a smile. "We'll let you know."

Arthur turned and left the office and Cheki moved back into his stall. _"I like him, but his mate growls a lot in her head."_

Harry chuckled, "She does at that mate."

**United Nations Building, New York City, December 15****th****, 1996...**

Campbeltown Weyr popped from Between and slowly circled over the streets more than a thousand feet below. It was impossible to miss the sound of car horns and the bustle of everyday traffic from Manhattan even at one thousand feet.

"_It's a good thing we didn't come out over there,"_ Chekiath announced, then he adjusted his flight and the World Trade Center swung into view.

Harry gulped. _"I'll say,"_ he sent back, _"Ask Comaloth to have Hermione remind me to put a note in my list about checking for tall buildings when jumping to a city please."_

"_Done. Now she's going to nag you about it,"_ Cheki said smugly.

Harry smiled at the idea. Hermione had near perfect memory and if she reminded him, he'd remember to put in a note about checking building heights in areas they wanted to appear in. He didn't mind and it was one of the little ways he used to remind her that he needed her.

Besides, her nags had become very gentle compared to her strident comments about doing his homework when they were younger.

One more wing appeared as Condron arrived and Harry waved to Skip and Kat. Maziang appeared a bare two hundred feet behind them a second later.

He was pleased to see Jasper Brady sitting behind a rider and looking none too comfortable. He liked the American liaison who worked as hard for Condron and dragons as James Mills worked for Campbeltown.

Jasper had already smoothed over a few bumps that Condron had run into and Harry hoped every Weyr could have an advocate like Mills and Brady.

Harry squeezed his knees and leaned left. Chekiath banked to the right and Harry pointed. "There, in front of the building. Do you see the large open area they have cordoned off?"

"_I see it. All Wings, follow me in wing order,"_ Chekiath replied, then he started a gentle spiral downwards. The clear area was empty, but all around the police barricades were thousands of people and news cameras waited for their arrival.

Seven wings dragons, five from Campbeltown and one each from Condron and Maziang, joined Harry and Cheki in their downward spiral. Chekiath was deliberately turning their arrival into a spectacle for the cameras and the crowd. Campbeltown boasted seven wings now with the November impression, but those two wings were still in Weyrling training and had been left behind at Campbeltown.

As Harry had predicted, the number of magical riders from those two news wings was a mere fifteen people. Magical riders would always be a part of the Weyr, but for the next few years they would be a substantial minority.

The last few months since the unveiling had been a trial for the Weyr. Offers had flooded in from every industry and country wanting to meet dragons or film them. But as was often the case, with the good came the bad. A substantial number of people believed dragons were demons. Christian and Muslim extremists condemned them, some countries claimed that they were animals, cleverly trained animals, but animals nonetheless. Still other groups claimed them to be soulless demons.

It was a rare day that someone wasn't in front of the Weyr gate protesting the existence of dragons or hoping to get a peek at the dragons. For the most part they obeyed the law and were little more than a minor nuisance. But Harry also knew that sooner or later they would attract the attention of a more dangerous protester.

The Weyr finally had its outing in Brighton, much to the delight of the city council and the local press who managed to score an exclusive interview with the Weyrleader. To Harry's intense embarrassment a photo of him in his bathing suit appeared in nearly every paper in the country the following morning. Harry looked at the photo and cringed. He never saw the powerful upper body mass he had built up or his large leg muscles from gripping Cheki. In his mind he always saw the skinny kid that he was before he impressed. Equally baffling and embarrassing were the offers from several magazines for him to do a nude photo-shoot once he turned eighteen.

To make matters worse, when he turned down that offer, both May and Hermione asked if he would be willing to do a private photo-shoot just for them.

The non-magical riders were finally able to return home and not have to hide themselves or their dragons. Unfortunately they had to learn the same painful lesson that the magical riders had learned. They were forevermore dragon riders and there was no real going back. Family would still be family, but there was no common ground anymore between them and their old friends. And worse, sometimes there wasn't even common ground between the rider and their family.

Chekiath came to a gentle landing and slowly furled his wings. He was nearly two feet taller at the shoulder than the next biggest dragon. His landing caused the crowd to fall silent for a moment then the children started cheering as they recognized the most famous dragon on the planet.

From his vantage point on Chekiath, Harry lazily surveyed the crowd. It was the usual, a large group of people and their young children clamoring to see the dragons, a much smaller, but louder group carrying protest signs, usually of a religious nature. And a large group of press and the merely curious that came out to see a dragon in their lifetime.

He smiled and waved to some of the parents and their children, causing their excitement to ratchet up a notch then he turned in his position on Chekiath and lightly dropped to the pavement.

One by one the Wings landed. Most of the dragons remained on the ground long enough to allow their rider to dismount, then they launched skywards again to find a place to perch and watch the spectacle.

This was an event they had planned for and everyone knew what they would do. Lee and Mariah, followed by their dragons, walked over to where the press were anxiously waiting and hoping for a chance to talk to the riders. Hermione, Luna and a handful of other riders walked over to where the parents and their children seemed to be thickest.

Hermione had come up with an idea that Harry wholeheartedly approved of. She and the others each carried a large flat box containing a hundred posters. Each poster contained the ink print of a dragon paw. In the corner of the poster was a photograph of the dragon and the rider along with some information about the pair. Currently they only had posters of Chekiath and the first riders, but plans were in the works for a book compilation similar to a school year book listing dragons and riders.

Skip and Kat had authorized similar posters for Condron's first riders, and several riders from Condron were also present handing out posters to the children and parents. At some Weyr outings they would hand out over a thousand posters and still not be able to meet the demand.

Finally several of the larger Ironbelly and Horntails walked over to where the protesters stood shouting slogans and hurling insults at the riders and their dragons. As they approached, they increased their weight until the ground under their paws trembled. And like usual, the protesters shrank back from the fearsome looking dragons. The dragons then tried to talk to them and explain that they weren't a threat; which was ignored by most of the protesters. It did have a positive effect on the press who quickly realized that the dragons weren't really trying to terrorize anyone. They could hear the dragons trying to explain, and the protesters refusing to acknowledge even the fact that the dragons were talking to them.

The Bulstrode effect was not well known outside of scientific circles, thus a sixty foot long dragon looked like it should shake the ground when it walked.

Talking to the protesters was a powerful piece of counter-propaganda and it had been something Harry came up with. The net result was that the conservative religious groups were finding it hard to justify their actions when they were the ones looking like idiots. Very often the press would follow the dragons who would answer their questions very politely. When the press tried to ask the protesters why they refused to respond to the dragons with anything but shouted slogans and curses; they had no excuses to offer.

It didn't help that the more moderate religious groups were refraining from commenting about dragons entirely. The only religious figure to do so, the Archbishop of Canterbury said that he welcomed the dragons and hoped to meet with them personally someday soon. That was his public statement, but thus far his actions hadn't reflected his public comments.

Campbeltown Weyr now hosted several religious figures, but only Eddie Took was actively trying to convert the riders and dragons. The others had been sent by their superiors to investigate the dragons. It seemed that the presence of intelligent beings other than humans was giving mainstream religions a conundrum that they had no answers to. For the most part, the clergy visiting the Weyr were doing so mainly for fact finding. Few seemed genuinely interested in dragons enough to make any sort of effort.

Harry nodded in greeting to Lobsang. Lobsang was considered a great mystery by the world press. There was intense speculation about the man that wore a Weyrleader's beret, but didn't represent any known Weyr. It caused Maziang no end of private amusement when Lobsang stoically ignored the shouted questions from the press.

His name wasn't known, nor the country which he represented. The only thing known about Maziang was that it was located somewhere in Asia. The Chinese understood that the third Weyr was somewhere in their territory, but they were keeping silent on the issue. The prospect of cheap power was too tempting for them to press the issue about the Weyr on their lands.

Harry and the Weyrleaders stood around talking quietly for nearly a half hour before they were interrupted.

"Weyrleader?"

Harry turned to see a very nervous looking young man in a blue blazer with the UN logo standing nearby. He was trying to catch Harry's attention without getting too close to Chekiath. "Yes?"

"If you and your group will follow me please?"

"Ah they said you'd show us the freight entrance and maintenance tunnel that accesses the assembly chamber," Harry offered.

The young man blinked. "I'm sorry, yes I can show you that way. I had thought that my boss was pulling a joke on me," he blurted out.

Harry chuckled. "I can imagine, but seriously, Chekiath cannot fit through those small doors," he said, pointing to the front entrance.

The man stopped and turned to stare at Harry incredulously. "You mean to bring a dragon into the general assembly chamber?"

Harry grinned at the man who was now sweating bullets. "Oh my my," he muttered to himself, then he turned and dashed off towards a freight entrance around the corner.

Harry motioned to the others and the other three Weyrleaders as well as Campbeltown's Wingleaders fell in behind him. And behind them all, Chekiath rumbled with amusement and followed his rider.

Most of the riders made their way into the building using the regular entrance, but a handful from each Weyr remained outside to keep an eye on the dragons and the people.

The Weyrleaders followed the, by now, very nervous young man who led them through a large maintenance tunnel and out into the large assembly chamber. Harry and the others moved to one side so they could stand beside Chekiath instead of in front of him. Harry was determined to see that his dragon was treated just like any other visiting dignitary.

As soon as they entered the chamber the soft murmur intensified greatly. The room was filling up rapidly and Chekiath's presence sent a ripple of shock throughout the chamber.

"_Harry, the Lord Holder is here,"_ Chekiath announced brightly. _"I like him."_

Harry smiled. "There are a lot of lord holders here mate, not just Prime Minister Major," Harry murmured in reply.

Prime Minister Major looked up from his seat and smiled at the pair and nodded in greeting. Chekiath looked around, the large chamber and spotted another Lord Holder he knew, Condron's Lord Holder. _"This is an important meeting isn't it? I know you said it was important, but I didn't think so many Lord Holders would show up."_

Harry nodded nervously; he also felt his own inner tension ratchet up enormously. Instead of addressing mostly UN Ambassadors, he and his dragon would be speaking to heads of state. This was a special session called by the Secretary General of the United Nations and he had personally invited every country's leader to attend.

The chamber wasn't completely full, several countries were boycotting the meeting in protest, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Argentina and Iran were just some of the countries boycotting the meeting. Others wouldn't have been welcome even if they were present. Both Iraq and North Korea called dragons a hoax. Then they said that _if they existed_, they would shoot down any that entered their airspace.

Harry glanced up towards the visitor's gallery to see his riders filing into their seats. Their dragons were listening via their bond from perches outside the building. Lee smiled and gave him two thumbs up, letting him know that all went well with his talks to the press. Hermione and May sat next to each other, watching him and the people down on the main floor, they had special permission to join Harry once he had spoken but for now they would watch from the VIP gallery. Their pride in Harry was evident in the looks they shot his way, but Harry knew they were quick to keep his feet on the ground. He also knew that one of them had a potion to settle his stomach. There was something about talking in front of a television camera that really bothered him.

The lights flickered and a great many people sat down and reached for a pair of headphones.

"_What are they doing?"_ asked Cheki.

Harry chuckled, "The headphones will let them listen to a translation in their own language. They don't understand that they will hear you in their native language, but they will learn soon enough."

The room fell silent except for Chekiath who continued to rumble at the various people that seemed afraid of him. The huge dragon sat in a position just to the left of Harry and the other Weyrleaders and Wing Leaders. His eyes were spinning rapidly, flashing a mix of blue and green at an alarming rate. Harry and the others knew it meant the dragon was generally happy and finding himself amused by everything going on around him, but the color shifting had a disturbing effect on some of the diplomats who shrank back in their seats.

The lights flickered one last time and then the staff closed the doors. The Secretary General entered the chamber from a side door. He was a short wiry man with gray hair and a bushy mustache. He stepped up to a large podium in the front of the room and spoke for a few minutes in a language that Harry didn't know. Harry looked around frantically for a spare headset with an English label, then Skip handed him one and he placed one of the ear pieces to his ear.

"And so I welcome you all to this extraordinary session of the United Nations as we bear witness and give welcome to the first ever non-human intelligent life to address this body," the secretary general said, then he paused and grinned. "For the past century we have looked to the stars and wondered are we alone. And the answer to that question has been living side by side with us for hundreds of centuries.

"In the five months since the world learned of dragon-kind and their human partners, they have made a huge impact on the world. No doubt you have seen the images of dragons visiting schools, or showing up at the beach in southern England. And no one can claim to be unmoved by the video of the dragon sitting and humming to a group of preschoolers on the English coast."

Harry smiled at that. During their day trip to Brighton Luna and Trandieth had wandered off looking for sea shells. Luna had happened upon a day care center outing where one of the adults was trying to teach the children a song. As she sang, she saw the large dragon curl up in the sand behind the children and the dragon started to hum along with her.

Luna sat down; leaning against her dragon and the children turned around and spotted her and the dragon only feet away. Luna motioned for the woman to keep singing with Trandieth while the children seemed enthralled by the sound.

The local news photographer managed to capture a short video clip of the children humming along with their teacher and the dragon and the video ended up being the lead story for many news organizations that night. Thanks to the Internet, the clip was one of the most watched videos of all time.

Harry glanced up again to the section where his riders were and Luna winked at him. Harry had managed to firmly put Luna in her place with the help of his girls, but she still continued to tease him whenever she could but for now she refrained from suggesting she join his triplet.

"...Including dragon kind into our societies is not without its challenges," Harry heard over the headset. He chastised himself for not paying attention to the Secretary General. "But it is also a rewarding experience for any nation that does so. I have personally met with dragons both from Campbeltown and from the American Weyr.

"And I have been assured by both Weyrleaders and the American government that the only reason why the American Weyr's location still remains a secret is because the facility is still under construction. President Clinton has assured me that sometime next year its location will be revealed.

"I have toured the American facility and like Campbeltown, other than a small guard force, there is no significant military presence, no training of dragons for military purposes."

The Secretary General paused and looked hard at the representatives from several nations. "I have been assured by the dragons themselves that they are forbidden to participate in any weapons research or military actions that are not humanitarian in nature. The Weyrleader has made it perfectly clear to me that the dragons will reach out to help anyone, but will not join any nation's military. I find his attitude refreshing because it extends beyond nations and politics and reaches out to people. As the Weyrleader told me, 'Dragons do not see Americans, or French, or English. They only see people.'

"It is an interesting and refreshing take on global politics that I think we'd all benefit from adopting it. We all know that the Weyr helped the British rescue one of their naval vessels and its crew. We have all seen the television interviews with the crew members and their families. But there are still other stories to tell. Of the dragons that appeared and rescued a fire fighting crew that became trapped by a wild fire in southern California. Or the Irish fishing trawler that was plucked from the North Atlantic, rescuing all on-board and saving the ship.

"A famous Chinese proverb says 'May you live in interesting times.' it is meant to be a curse, but these are very interesting and very positive times if you ask me. And so we come now to a very historic occasion. This is the first time the United Nations will be addressed by an intelligent being other than human.

"The Weyrleader and his dragon will both have something to say. For those of you watching these proceedings on television, you will be provided his comments via your closed caption system as well as a voice over. The dragon's telepathy cannot be picked up by a microphone, but our translators will hear the words and rebroadcast them for you at home.

"For those present in the chamber today you will have the unique experience of hearing the dragon in your own native tongue. The dragons are without a doubt the greatest translators the world has ever seen."

He paused and smiled at the cameras. "Let us welcome to our assembly, the Weyrleader of the dragons, Harry Potter and Chekiath, his bonded dragon."

The assembly broke into a restrained applause and Harry placed the headphone on the table and pulled a microphone closer to him. Chekiath shuffled forward a bit so that his head could rest just over Harry's right shoulder. Due to Chekiath's great size, there was no room for him on the stage where the podium was, so they had set up a table nearby with a microphone for Harry's use.

Harry glanced at a technician who nodded to him. The man had just finished placing a microphone in front of him. He took a deep breath and waited for the chamber to settle down.

"Mister General Secretary, members of the assembly, honored guests and to everyone watching no matter where you are, on behalf of the dragons of Earth I thank you for your most gracious welcome," Harry paused and looked at Chekiath.

"_We are honored to be here and hope that we'll be able to meet with many of you in the near future. A long time ago we came to this world by accident and we managed to survive. What we can remember from that time is painful to us because for all of our intelligence we were created to be partners. A crucial part of us was missing and like a puzzle that was missing a piece, it was incomplete for many turns. Our intellect suffered because of that lack. We dragons call it the 'Time of the Beasts'. We were locked into our own minds unable to understand or be understood by other dragons or people._

"_And then by purest luck I found my Harry. Or perhaps it would be best to say we found each other. There are no words in any language to describe what Harry and I share, or what any rider shares with their dragon. Harry is unique in that he can talk to all dragons and that is perhaps why our bond exploded around the world awakening dragon-kind to what we once were. I know I could not have done that, it was because of my rider._

"_Perhaps if Harry had been just an ordinary rider, the dragons would not have awoken to their heritage and we would not be here today. None of us can say, but we believe only the Weyrleader could have broken us free from that prison._

Harry blushed and fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"_He gave us back our memories and promised he would try to make our world better. We didn't know it at the time. Even I, his bonded dragon, didn't understand that when he said 'our world', he was speaking of not just of a world for dragons, but a world where dragons and humans lived side by side, peacefully, helping each other so that both species may prosper._

"_The past year has been difficult as both riders and dragons had to learn new ways and new things. And the learning continues every day. The Weyr, to survive, must reach out to people and show them that together we are stronger than apart."_

Chekiath paused and looked at Harry, his eyes twirling with nearly a solid green. Harry reached up and gently rubbed Chekiath's head, then he turned back to face the cameras. "Stronger together than apart says my dragon. Humans in partnership with dragon-kind will benefit both groups. That is our goal and our mission," Harry said in a loud voice.

"In the coming year, the United Kingdom, Holland and the United States will break ground on the first commercial 1000 Megawatt power stations run entirely by dragon power. Next year more power stations will be built in the People's Republic of China. The Weyr is licensing the design and currently in negotiations with several countries that would see many more stations constructed in the coming years.

"Campbeltown Weyr has also begun a new research effort to bring smaller and less expensive power stations to developing nations. I have been told that our Slow Decline Thermal Sources or Hot Rocks as they are popularly called, can be used to make a much smaller power station, small enough to fit on the back of a lorry and still provide adequate power to a small village or hospital in a developing country.

"Efforts are being made to reinvent steam engine technology and it is very possible that inner city transportation such as buses and commuter trains will be able to take advantage of smaller and safer steam powered engines. The savings in fossil fuel costs would be considerable.

"The Weyrs will continue to reach out to help with humanitarian efforts. To that effect, Campbeltown is looking to partner with the International Red Cross to provide disaster relief and closer to home, the Royal Coast Guard has joined with the Weyr to utilize dragon riders in search and rescue efforts.

"Several countries are talking to us about bringing a Weyr to their country and we hope to open at least one Weyr in 1997, perhaps more. And while the Weyr has made great strides, there are still things we can do to improve. I wish I could say that dragons are welcome everywhere, but that isn't the case. The countries of Iraq and North Korea have publicly stated that they will attack any dragons they find in their territory or airspace. I will say this and hope it is understood by all. We will respect the wishes of any country that doesn't want dragons to overfly their territory or be on their lands. On the other hand the Weyr reserves the right to do business with only those countries friendly to us.

"The dragons have a saying, 'May you find peace and shelter under our wings'. This is at the heart of what we are and what we represent. Peace and protection. It is our defining characteristic by which every Weyr and every rider will function. We will help our friends when asked, we will do our part to protect both dragon and mankind."

Harry took a half step back and Chekiath moved slightly forward. _"It is our hope that we will be here to help humans for a long time to come. May you always find peace and shelter under our wings."_

There was a moment of shocked silence then Prime Minister Major stood and started to applaud. The movement spread among the delegates like wildfire. Harry nervously looked around at the world leaders who were normally more sedate that this and he shuffled the handful of index cards that contained his speech.

Harry glanced meaningfully at Ronan who stepped forward to intercept people trying to get to Harry. He turned and stepped from the room and made a beeline for the nearest bathroom. A few minutes later he stepped from the bathroom and wiped at his mouth with a piece of paper towel. May and Hermione were waiting for him. In Hermione's hands was a small single dose vial of a stomach calming potion. Harry reached for the potion when he froze.

"_I don't like this,"_ Chekiath announced suddenly. _"First you get sick, now I feel like my breakfast cow is still moving in my belly."_

Harry opened his mouth to reply when the huge dragon blinked out of room leaving behind a puff of super chilled air.

"Did he just jump Between without going airborne?" exclaimed Hermione.

Harry clutched at his stomach and grimaced as he felt a wave of nausea wash over him from his bond. "No he jumps slightly before he's..."

Harry's vision faded and he gagged again. Suddenly he had a brief impression of a terrified man leaping off a pier, then he was back in his own body looking at Hermione.

Hermione paled and shoved the potion into his hands. "Drink that," she ordered, she didn't want to consider what a dragon throwing up would be like. Nor did she want to know what it would be like to experience that via her bond.

"Cheki are you alright?" May asked worriedly.

"_I am now, but I think I scared a fisherman, he jumped into the water when I appeared. I plucked him out of the river once I was done revisiting breakfast,"_ Chekiath replied in relief. _"I don't like doing that Harry. I don't think I want to speak to the world again maybe I should leave that to you."_

Several people passing by looked at them as if they were odd. Chekiath had left the building and there were several city blocks of noise between them and the river. What only a rider understood was that the dragons could hear through their riders just like their riders could see through their dragon's eyes.

Harry recapped the empty potion bottle and shoved it in his pocket, "I hear that mate, but we can't avoid it entirely. I'll try to make them few and far between I promise."

"Harry are you alright?" asked Prime Minister Major.

Hermione turned and put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Post speech jitters Minister, he and Chekiath will be fine in a moment."

Harry nodded. "I'll be fine sir, just give me a minute and I'll rejoin you in the general assembly chamber."

Major smiled knowingly, Harry wasn't the first famous person to get sick after giving a speech. "Very well, I'll let everyone know you and Chekiath are fine."

Harry watched him walk off and then he kissed Hermione's cheek. "Thank you for the potion. I should get back inside. May would you grab a few riders and send them out to escort Chekiath back into the building? He can't open those doors without breaking them down."

Hermione nodded and May laughed quietly to herself. When May rejoined Hermione a few minutes later she saw Hermione glaring down a bunch of young women, most of whom were either were part of the press corps or were part of the United Nations staff.

"What's got your wings flapping?" she asked.

"Them," Hermione said, jerking her chin towards the ladies who were staring at Harry as if he were a meal and they were starving. The fact that the youngest among the women was at least six years older than Harry didn't seem to bother them at all. It was only the fact that Harry paid no attention to them that kept Hermione from going over there. It also surprised her just how possessive she could be to other females, except for May and wondered what that meant.

"Oh," May said unhappily, taking in the scene. May agreed with Hermione in this case, most of the women were older than they were and more attractive in her mind. It didn't help that both Hermione and May could understand the attraction. Harry was powerfully built despite his short stature, and if that wasn't enough, he literally exuded a confidence in public that astounded both girls.

"You do know you're both being silly. Worrying over something that can't happen," said a familiar voice.

They turned to see Susan Bones standing behind them, her arms crossed under her breasts and eyeing them disdainfully. "What do you mean Sue?" asked May, embarrassed by being caught.

"Your dragons are the consorts of Harry's dragon. That automatically makes you more appealing to Harry than any five of those women combined. Then on top of that Harry loves you two, look at him, has he given any indication that he even knows they are there?"

Hermione shook her head. Harry was far too busy talking with representatives from Peru, Britain and China. He never noticed the cluster of females standing nearby. They didn't get too close because of Chekiath, but this wasn't the first time May and Hermione had seen the effect of their Harry on other women.

"Of course he hasn't," Susan answered for her. "You have far more to worry about from Luna and me than you do from those girls and honestly, Luna and I don't stand a chance. Every female rider knows Harry's untouchable, and well Luna does too even if she gets a kick out of getting a rise out of Harry."

Hermione and May exchanged an amused grin. Luna had cut way back on her teasing of Harry. She would still do it, but after Harry decided to fight back Luna decided that playing with fire just might get her burned.

"Yeah," May said with a slight snigger, "Luna learned her lesson. Push Harry hard enough and he pushes back."

"I've watched Harry when he thinks no one is looking, he watches you two intently," Susan said. "You can see a weird mix of emotions on his face when he does. Love, pride, surprise, even occasionally a look of hunger too. Not a single girl in the Weyr gets those looks from him, and Chekiath is the only other being he looks at with love in his gaze. If he's not going to look at the girls he deals with daily, he's not going to be aware of that pack of women. Its only your own insecurity that makes you doubt your relationship, not Harry."

Susan jerked a thumb towards the pack of women standing nearby.

May glanced back at where Harry stood, smiling for the cameras with Prime Minister Major on his left and the Peruvian President on his right. Harry was taller than the president, but not by a lot. He suddenly turned his head and looked at her, giving her a gentle smile that she rarely saw outside of the privacy of their home. "You know, I always thought I would go for a taller man, but," she trailed off and sighed causing Susan to laugh at her.

May glanced over at Susan who smiled brightly. "You forget I know how well he is built. He'll never be tall, but he does have an impressive set of chest muscles. Look May, you still have nothing to worry about. I knew when I went to him that he didn't love me. I'm still surprised at how things worked themselves out."

"Us too," Hermione added with a blush.

"If you three are finished gossiping, I would like a word," said a voice officiously.

All three girls turned to see a man in a three piece suit, standing there looking at them with a very unfriendly expression on his face.

"And you are?" asked Hermione.

The man flashed them a badge. "My name is John Reson, Agent Reson, United States Department of Immigration, customs division. Not a single one of you stopped at an approved customs inspection point before entering the country. None of you filed a formal customs declaration and since you haven't presented any passports I have to assume you're here illegally. I don't want to cause a scene, but I'm afraid you'll have to come along with me. There are buses outside waiting to take you all to the Manhattan federal building."

"And the fact that we came here to witness our Weyrleader address the United Nations today has no meaning?" asked May incredulously.

"Or the fact that you have no jurisdiction anywhere on this property?" Hermione asked archly. The UN building was officially neutral territory. The building and the block it stood on were not subject to any local laws.

Reson opened his mouth to reply when another voice cut across the floor from nearby. "You've got to be kidding me!?" exclaimed Skip Taylor who had been standing nearby talking with Lobsang. "Jasper! Jasper! Will you call off this pencil necked geek before I have a dragon dump him in the Hudson river?"

Jasper Brady hurried over and pulled out his identification. As Weyr liaison to the US Government he was placed into a position that put him as officially attached to the White House staff even though he was still working for the Department of Magic.

Harry knew there was a problem and Chekiath was slowly making his way over to see what was going on. He would have gone himself, but the President of France and the Ambassador from Ecuador both wanted to talk to him about opening a Weyr in their countries.

Ecuador had a much better chance of having a Weyr than France did. There were several south American Weyrs that were unsafe and needed to be relocated. But there were no dragon reserves in France and none in Europe that needed to be relocated. That meant that France would probably never have a Weyr of it's own. Or at least not in the near future.

Harry wasn't opposed to opening new manned Weyrs, but he wanted to limit the number of dragons who consumed large quantities of livestock. Too many dragons and they would begin impacting human food stocks. Right now he had a goal of ten thousand paired dragons beyond the non-bonded remaining dragons. Once he achieved that he would reexamine the situation and see if more dragon riders were feasible.

"What seems to be the problem?" asked Jasper. No one noticed the slight flexing of his wrist and his wand sticking out about an inch from the cuff of his suit jacket.

Reson looked at the offered ID and swallowed nervously. "I'm stationed at the Manhattan office. We got a call about these people just appearing, supposedly they are from the United Kingdom, but they never went through customs."

Brady shook his head and muttered something under his breath. Reson trailed off in confusion and Brady slipped his wand back into his holster. "Go back to your office and tell them it was a big mistake. It's all taken care of. All of the people in question are here by personal invitation of the President himself. Besides our office has duly noted their entry even if your office hasn't received notice of such."

Reson nodded and wandered away. Hermione looked at Brady with a touch of awe, he had cast a confundus hex on the man and she never saw him draw his wand!

"I hate doing that, but sometimes I think we breed idiots just to staff the bureaucracy. I personally sent a memo two weeks ago to the state department telling them to inform the local offices, it seems that someone forgot to pass along the memo," Jasper muttered, then he turned to May and Hermione. "You need to tell Harry that from now on every rider needs to carry their passport when they go out of the country. I'll clear it with immigration this time, but some countries can be really hard to deal with. You don't want to give them an excuse to arrest anyone."

"They won't need it if they come to Condron," Skip declared.

Jasper glanced over at him and smiled. "No Skip I suppose they won't. But it is a good habit to have and they would need it if they left the Weyr," he said, then he grew pensive. "I suppose this is one of the issues we'll have to bring up at an international level. Normally we track people because they enter or leave a country via a specific point. It's not usual for people to be able to arrive anywhere within your territory."

"We'll tell Harry," May offered. "To be honest it never occurred to me to bring my passport. We all have them, but I know mine is sitting in my top dresser drawer at home."

"Mine is in my desk, but look, Harry's free, I'll go speak to him now about this. I'm pretty sure he doesn't want this to cause any problems for anyone," Hermione added.

Jasper nodded and looked over to see Harry leaning against a wall, scribbling in his notebook. Hermione went over to speak to Harry and after a few minutes of intense discussion, she returned to Jasper with a rather impish grin.

"What's that grin for?" he asked warily. If there was one thing he had learned about dragons and their riders is that they enjoyed pushing things to the limit.

"Harry says that the Weyrs will happily conform to the laws, but he asked where can he apply for Chekiath's passport? Then he went on to rightly point out that at a very minimum, bonded dragons should have passports since the non-bonded tend to rarely leave the territory around their Weyrs, but a bonded dragon goes where their rider goes," Hermione said.

She didn't have the heart to tell Jasper that Harry had written a note in his book about the Weyr issuing their own passports instead of using one from the host country.

Jasper removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment. This was exactly the kind of thing that the riders were becoming famous for. As a whole they pushed for equality for their dragons whenever the opportunity arose.

So far, Condron Weyr had forced the American Federal Aviation Administration to issue waivers to dragon-kind exempting them from the need for standard "on-board avionics" and from VFR and IFR flight regulations and the riders were exempted from the need to hold a pilot's license. The FAA reluctantly issued a new classification since dragons didn't fall into the category of Ultra Lights, or private aircraft, no dragons were classified as biologicals. Skip suggested that the FAA issue a pilot's license to each dragon, but the FAA refused to even consider the idea.

These changes wouldn't have happened except that a dragon from Condron had landed at a regional airport to rest and get some water. The rider had been yelled at by Skip and Kat, but the damage was done and the local officials were upset that the dragon wasn't "flight certified".

Skip and Kat hadn't been angry about the boy landing his dragon at an airport. What concerned them was the fact that he had let the dragon become so exhausted he needed to rest at a public airport which happened to be handy.

The whole thing would have probably been ignored, but one of the airport employees was a member of a religious group that had been protesting dragons since they were announced to the world. Having a dragon land at the airport allowed for him to file an official complaint which got the FAA involved.

Jasper smiled, "The Weyrleader raises an interesting point, but I'm not sure customs agencies are ready to issue passports for dragons just yet. You can assure him however that I will raise the point with my government."

Dragons were proving to be a problem for most bureaucracies and it was an issue that Jasper and James Mills had to deal with nearly every day.

Hermione smiled and kept silent. Jasper might not think that the national custom agencies would be issuing passports to dragons, but the Weyrs might if Harry had his way.

* * *

**Author's notes and Mockeries...**

***** The expected update schedule will be one chapter every two weeks. As I write these notes I have enough material for roughly 11 chapters.

***** If this chapter left you dazed and confused, then you need to go back to the two earlier stories and read them first. In order, these stories are;

Part 1 - The Queen who fell to Earth

Part 2 - On the Wings of Dragons

If you have read those two stories and are still dazed and confused, it's not our fault. We told you to wear a seat belt and you refused! Besides, look at that bruise on your forehead and the way your nose is bent. Don't blame us bucko!

***** To all the people that decided not to pm, or leave a review bugging me about this story, I thank you. Until the day comes when I can get paid for doing this, no one has the right to complain when real life interferes with something you're getting for free.

***** To all the people that DID pm or leave reviews bugging me, I say only this. Bugger off! Er, no seriously folks, you're getting this for free, just be thankful you're getting it at all. Remember next time that fan fiction authors are just people like you and we have lives with our own personal dramas.

***** As always, unsigned reviews are deleted. You could be Jesus Christ and if you don't log in to leave a signed review I'm going to delete it.

***** As usual each chapter is roughly 30 printed pages. If you can't handle a mere 15K word chapter then I'm sure your local bookstore still carries the Dick and Jane pre-school readers. Honestly though, didn't you even once wonder why Jane insisted on hanging out with a Dick?

***** This bullet point has been intentionally left blank.

***** The above bullet point is available for rent and comes with a complimentary Llama costume and a part in Alyx's movie.


	2. Chapter 2

**Standard disclaimer:**

Alyx paced back and forth nervously on the stage. Every so often she'd glance out at the audience and cringe as the theater slowly filled. Finally after several more minutes of pacing she sighed and turned to the audience.

"I'm afraid I have to apologize to everyone. Apparently some people didn't care much for the Incredible Who Who epic, and even worse, thought the idea of Tom Cruise starring in a musical based on the epic was outrageous," Alyx said, then she fought back a sniffle.

"Bob has threatened to take away my power tools if I continue with the idea. So, reluctantly and under protest, I am giving up on any Who who movie idea and no longer writing a sequel to the Who who epic. Instead I will open it up to fan fiction writers."

"Wait! Wait! That's not what we agreed!" Bob shouted from offstage. A moment later he emerged from the right because everyone knows that stage left is the exit side. "You never said anything about opening it up to fan fiction! Don't you know what fan fiction writers will do to your Who Who Whuinverse?"

Alyx stared at Bob in shock. "No what?" she asked tremulously.

Bob leaned in closer and looked around carefully to make sure no one was listening, then he switched on his microphone so everyone could clearly hear him.

"They will totally ruin it! They will turn Draco and Snape straight! What will happen in your Whuniverse if your characters like girls?! Just imagine, someone writes a story where Snape and Delores Umbridge fall in love and have... sex! They could hook Draco up with a Dominatrix McGonagall!"

Alyx gasped and fainted.

Bob smirked at her still form, then winked at the audience. "God I love this job," he muttered to himself.

Bob waved to a convenient, unnamed, stagehand and a small pack/herd/flock/pod of llamas were herded/shoved/pushed/stampeded onto the stage. While the stagehand was llama herding/shoving/pushing/stampeding, Bob was busy gluing strips of llama wool to the now sleeping Alyx.

Finally Bob straightened up and faced the audience. "Alyx needs a new focus to help her tell you that we don't own Harry Potter or the Dragonriders of Pern. So with the demise of her Who who I'm going to let her think she is now a victim of the incredibly rare (and just recently invented for the purposes of this disclaimer) Llamacanthropy disease."

Bob chuckled and walked off the stage as the Llamas settled in around Alyx for a nice nap.

"Enjoy the chapter folks, but be warned. Have some hankies handy!" Bob called from off stage. "I hope she doesn't think she is a llama otherwise she'll join the pack/herd/flock/pod. Then who will I have to amuse me?"

* * *

**Beneath Sovereign Skies**

**Chapter 2**

**Life Goes On**

* * *

**The Burrow, December 31s****t,**** 1996...**

"You wanted to talk to us dad?"

Arthur looked up from his newspaper and smiled at his family. He had called for a meeting of everyone available so he could speak to them before their guests arrived. Placing his paper down on the table he motioned for everyone to sit. "Yes I called you here to let you know that later today we'll be having some guests visiting. I've invited Harry and his two girlfriends here for dinner."

"Here?" exclaimed Ginny in dismay. Ginny wasn't proud of how she had acted the last few times she had met up with Harry. She understood that she'd never have a relationship with Harry now, however now she'd be confronted not only with Harry, but also with the reality of his unusual relationship.

Molly clucked her tongue and shook her head. Harry had taken up with two girls and she didn't approve of that at all. Remus had spoken to her, explaining in detail what kind of relationship was involved and she knew in a way this wasn't something Harry had deliberately chose for himself. Despite the explanation she still didn't really approve of what Harry was doing.

She had considered talking to Harry when she saw him at Buckingham Palace, but they never got the chance to say more than hello before Harry was whisked away to be introduced to the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. The one time she tried to bring up the subject with Harry, he had stepped on her hard, but the issue had been quickly forgotten in the wake of the attack on the Hogsmeade school.

It bothered Molly, but she wasn't sure it bothered her because she always hoped Harry and Ginny might get together or it bothered her on some moral grounds. She now understood the situation better, and was resolved to do something very different than anyone expected. She would hold her tongue and not bring it up.

"Yes, here," Arthur said a bit sternly. "Might I remind you that you owe your life to that young man. I invited Harry, Hermione and May here for dinner. Harry graciously accepted. Mind you, the Weyr and the Weyrleader have become internationally famous. You know that your mother and I attended a feast at Buckingham Palace on Boxing day. Harry was there and despite the good face he put on it, I could tell he hated every second of the day. He was there at the personal invitation of the Queen. Harry has attracted a lot of attention, in both worlds, but here it will be different.

"Here he will be just Harry, the same boy we've known and loved for years. And while I might wish things had gone differently for him I am happy for him because he's found a meaning to his life. Some of us go through our entire lives and never find that meaning."

Ron looked away, his father had been pointedly looking at him when he spoke. Ron had drastically improved his grades at school, but he still had little idea about what he wanted to do with his life.

"Just treat Harry like you normally would," He said to them all, and then he turned to the twins. "One of the girls accompanying Harry is a muggle which means that ordinarily she'd be defenseless against your pranks. But I'm told her dragon will protect her and she does have one of the largest dragons in the world. Both Hermione and May have dragons that are at the very top of the Emperor Horntail class. And I understand that Harry's dragon is very protective of his mate's riders; his dragon far exceeds the Emperor Horntail size limits."

Fred and George swallowed nervously and promised they would keep any demonstrations to simple stuff that was easy to fix.

Arthur smiled and nodded to them. They were truly good lads, even if they did let their enthusiasm get away from them now and then.

"Molly are you going to be alright with this?" he asked.

Molly dried her hands on a dish towel and sighed heavily. "I don't care for it, but ever since you asked Remus Lupin to explain it I understand it better. Remus said it best when he said that even if Harry had a single girlfriend, his dragon would always be part of that relationship. So it's not Harry and two girls, it's Harry, two girls and three dragons. It's six people trying to make a family," she said then she smiled softly at her family. Family was something she could understand right down to her toes. "That was another thing that Remus stressed, the dragons were a driving force behind the arrangement. He said that all three had a great deal of difficulty in the beginning. It's very different than what we're used to and I'm sure it's very different from what Harry and Hermione were were expecting for themselves. I think the only thing at this point that makes me uncomfortable at this point is this muggle girl."

Arthur nodded knowingly. He knew Molly would have problems with a muggle. She had a cousin that was a squib that she almost never talked about. To her a muggle might as well be a creature from another planet. She didn't hate muggles like some pure bloods, but they made her uncomfortable. She didn't know if she should admire them for surviving without magic or pity them. Arthur allowed her this foible only because she was being forced to confront it almost daily due to his position in the Ministry. Her attitude was being slowly eroded away with each passing day.

In a way Molly Weasley personified most of the pure-bloods of Britain, despite her husband's interests, she knew next to nothing about mundane society or it's accomplishments. His job was opening her eyes to the greater world and tearing at her conceptions of what life outside of magic was like.

"She's a very nice girl Molly. The only difference is she can't do magic," Arthur said gently. "What would you do if Charlie brought home a muggle girl?"

Molly nodded and smiled weakly. Charlie was in fact dating a squib who was a daughter of one of his fellow workers so the question was one she had already asked herself. "I know and I see what you're saying Arthur. It's just that I'm not used to mingling with muggles. Who knows, I might even like her once I get to know her."

Arthur leaned back in his chair and relaxed, Molly was his biggest worry. With Molly taken care of he turned to his youngest two children. "Well?"

Ron shrugged. "I don't have any problems seeing them. I'm not all that proud of some of the things I've done. Harry and I will probably never be best mates again, but I'm glad for the chance to see them again."

"Ginny?"

Ginny bowed her head and she wiped at her eye. "I won't cause any trouble for Harry."

Arthur leaned forward in his chair and rested an elbow on the table. "Pumpkin," he said.

"I know," she said harshly, and then her face flushed with shame. "I'm sorry, but it hurts you know?"

Arthur nodded sympathetically, "I know. I suppose I'm partially to blame for this. I read you all those stories when you were growing up."

Ginny looked up at him. "Oh no Daddy, I knew he wasn't the same boy as the one in the stories. He was even better. He killed a monster to save me! Little Ginny Weasley who couldn't even talk to him!"

Ginny sighed and wiped at her face again, then she smiled weakly and squared her shoulders. "I'm glad he's happy and glad that he's with Hermione. At least that way it's like he's still part of our family."

"That's the spirit Ginny," Fred said brightly.

"Yeah, our Harry had to find two girls to get as good as one Weasley," offered George as he poked Ginny in the shoulder.

"Probably needs three cooks too, since our Gin Gin here is nearly as good as mum," Fred added.

"And he has to deal with four cold feet instead of two!" George said. Ginny's feet were always cold and she had developed them into weapons whenever she had been tasked with waking her brothers for breakfast.

Arthur frowned, but Ginny giggled weakly. He relaxed when he saw what his sons were doing. Once again the Weasley family worked to help one of their own as the twins kidded and joked Ginny into a better mood.

"Percy?" he asked.

Percy smiled at his father and shook his head. The young man had undergone an ordeal that few had survived. It changed him greatly. Percy was much more considerate and personable these days than he used to be. "I don't have a problem with it father," he said softly. "The Weyr protected our family when those terrorists attacked the school, and they also protected Penelope who was at the school with her mentor that day. I can't say anything against that. I just wish Charlie could see it the way we do."

Arthur nodded, his son Charlie was a former dragon handler who still refused to acknowledge that dragons were intelligent despite the evidence. It was something that severely strained his relationship with his own family.

Molly smiled softly at Percy. She was so proud of him. And now that he had announced his engagement to Penelope she was tickled pink. Percy would be her first son to settle down and get married. She approved of Penelope who was a sweet girl that was studying to become a teacher. Her goal was to become a new type of teacher, introducing simple magic to pre-Hogwarts students as part of a Magical History and Techniques class. It was a new idea to the British wizards, but it was common around the world where most countries started their children casting magic as early as nine years old.

Arthur leaned back and looked at his family. Molly returned his smile and reached for his hand causing him to relax even further. He had been very worried about Harry coming here for dinner. He truly cared for the lad and considered him more like a son than an honorary Weasley or close family friend. Although no one knew it, after first year he had sounded Albus out about taking Harry into his home, but Albus had told him it was necessary for Harry to return to his family each year.

Satisfied that his family would behave, he went to pick up his paper and finish enjoying his tea. The rest of the family wandered off and Molly put the wireless on to a music station.

Arthur's hand snaked around the paper reaching and Molly quickly placed a plate of cookies within his reach. He grabbed a cookie and smiled to himself. Molly could be opinionated and obstinate, but she really was a gentle person deep down.

A few minutes later the sound of wings flapping drew his attention away from an article concerning a broom recall. Standing he peered out a window and smiled broadly. "Our guests have arrived, shall we go greet them?" he said to Molly.

Molly nodded a bit apprehensively. She knew dragons wouldn't hurt her, but that wasn't how she was raised. It was hard to put aside a fear she had grown up with. She put a shawl on and followed Arthur out the back door.

Molly edged a little closer to Arthur while Harry stood under Comaloth. Hermione reached into a silver colored thermal bag that she carried and extracted a bundle of flowers which she floated down to Harry, and then she turned in her seat and slithered down the side of her dragon.

Harry watched in amusement for a moment, then he glanced over to see May was also enjoying Hermione's effort to avoid falling. She had managed to put her fear of flying behind her, but nothing would take away her fear of falling. Hermione wasn't the only rider to resort to using a short knotted rope to help lower herself to the ground. Some of the Horntails stood fifteen feet tall at the shoulders, and Chekiath stood nearly seventeen feet tall.

All of the dragons lowered themselves so their riders could easily mount and dismount, but Hermione and a few others used a rope to steady their dismount. Even with the rope, and the dragons helping their riders, the distance to the ground still intimidated some of the riders.

Harry waited until Hermione was down, then he turned and smiled at the Weasleys. He stepped up to Molly and handed her the flowers and kissed her on the cheek.

"Hello Mrs Weasley, we brought you these," he said softly.

"Oh my goodness! Orchids, you remembered!" she exclaimed happily.

"Where did you get orchids at this time of year?" asked Arthur.

"Of course I remembered Mrs. Weasley. I remember de-gnoming your garden with Ron and while you grew mostly vegetables, you had one section reserved for roses and orchids. Ron told me how much effort you had to go through to make orchids grow in English weather and soil. As to where, these are courtesy of Nevado del Huila Weyr in Columbia, South America. I asked the dragons to look for the flowers and we picked them just before we came," Harry said.

May chuckled, "I tried to get them to go to a florist shop, but they insisted on doing it themselves."

"Well however you did it, thank you," Molly said, deeply moved by the gesture. No one had ever gone to another country before just to get her some flowers. "They are beautiful."

Arthur shook his head, and then he looked over Harry's shoulder to Chekiath. "Welcome to the Burrow Chekiath, I'm sorry but I don't remember the names of your consorts."

Cheki turned and eyed the man, his amusement was clearly showing in his eyes. _"Comaloth and Trath are my mated consorts holder Weasley, and we thank you for your welcome. __I spotted__ a small lake nearby if you don't mind, we'll wait for our riders there."_

The dragons were still struggling with names for people, but Harry had described the Burrow to Cheki who decided that Arthur fit into the category of Holder. The title of holder was apt as a land owner, and good enough for this situation. Harry was grateful he had managed to convince the dragons to use a formal title like Sir or Ma'am for most meetings if they didn't know their name. In Arthur's case, Harry told Chekiath that it was acceptable to call him by his title and last name.

Pern had a rigid class system that allowed for very structured names and or titles. Unfortunately modern society had far too many occupations and titles which had no Pern equivalent.

Arthur blinked in surprise. "But the lake is frozen over!" he protested.

"They recently discovered a muggle sport that they greatly enjoy," Hermione replied. "Of course they can't wear real ice skates, but they enjoy sliding along the ice anyway. And the cold doesn't bother them like it does humans."

Harry eyed his dragon and shook his head. He suspected that while he sat down for dinner with the Weasleys, his dragon would have two back to back shagging flights. He sighed and knew that he'd just have to endure it. While no rider exhibited the mating frenzy after their first shagging flight, all of the riders were still affected by their dragons.

May leaned into him and smiled impishly. "You know they aren't just going skating don't you."

He nodded and replied quietly, "Yeah Cheki's just doing it because he thinks it's funny."

The Weasleys were busy questioning Hermione about the dragons and not paying attention to the pair.

She hugged his arm tightly. "Don't worry about it, we'll deal with it later," she murmured.

Harry nodded and he stepped a bit closer to Hermione. Molly looked at the three and suddenly realized they were standing out in her backyard in a half a foot of snow. "Goodness!" she exclaimed, "let's get out of this cold. Come along now, I have some hot cocoa waiting and dinner will be ready soon. Everyone is just so excited to have you visit."

May paused in her stride and really looked at the Burrow. "How does that stay up?" she whispered to herself. The building had a decided lean to it, and looked like it had been patched many times over it's history. It may have appeared to be unstable, but it was clearly well maintained by the Weasley family.

"Magic," Harry replied gently from behind her. "It's a magical place powered by a loving family."

He placed a hand on her shoulder and gently nudged her towards the open door and its welcoming warmth. She smiled over her shoulder at him and followed Hermione into the house that looked like it was ready to fly apart any minute.

Harry paused at the threshold of the door and turned to look out over the yard with a wistful smile. The garden extended towards a small grove of apple trees in one direction and an open field in another.

"Harry?" asked Arthur worriedly.

Harry turned and shrugged. "I used to think this was a perfect place to grow up. So different from Privet drive and my cupboard." he admitted. "Sometimes I was so jealous of Ron for what he had, you can't put a price on family. My time here was some of the best times I ever had before I met Cheki."

He paused and took a deep breath of the crisp winter air. "It's still perfect. I envy that," he said with a wistful smile.

Arthur returned the smile. "Well you'll always be welcome here. And you'll always be just Harry here."

Arthur motioned for Harry to enter, and then he followed him inside.

Harry looked surprised to see Ron, Ginny, Fred, George and Percy looking at him with shocked expressions. They obviously heard his comment. Harry smiled weakly and absently scuffed a foot on the floor. He hadn't expected others to hear him.

Ginny broke the ice by stepping forward and giving Harry a hug. "I expect that someday the Weasley grandkids will be playing with their Potter cousins here at the Burrow. Happy New Year Harry, it's good to see you again."

She quickly let go of him and repeated the hug with Hermione before turning to May. "I'm Ginny Weasley. I'm the smart, good looking, Weasley," she proclaimed with an impish smile.

"Oi now!" yelped Fred. "I'm the good looking one!"

"No! You're the evil twin, I'm the good twin," George told him.

"Good or evil, you're both insane," Ginny added.

May looked a little bewildered and Harry stepped next to her. He pointed to the twins with a finger. "This is Fred and George. Even they don't know which one is really which. Do not eat or drink anything they offer you," he said to May, then he turned to the twins. "May's bond mate is a sixty eight foot long, twelve ton dragon who would be very unhappy if you turn her rider into a canary. I have personally seen her dragon swallow a six hundred pound pig whole."

The twins paled and looked at May a bit fearfully.

"_That's not true __Harry__, I did chew it a bit,"_ Trath announced to everyone's surprise. Hermione and Harry started to chuckle.

"Harry," May chided. "I'm sure they'll behave. Lee warned me about them."

"And we'll protect you if need be. I know a new hex I've been itching to try out," Hermione added, eyeing the pair evilly.

The twins looked at Hermione for a moment, and then turned to Harry. "What have you done with Hermione?" cried George.

Ron doubled over with laughter and Hermione stared at the twins, her arms crossed and one foot tapping in annoyance.

"Yes can you do the same to Percy?" asked Fred teasingly.

"Hey now!" exclaimed Percy.

"What are you talking about?" demanded Hermione, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Harry stepped over to Hermione and wrapped an arm around her from behind. She tried to look at him and saw he was trying hard not to laugh. "Why are you laughing?" she demanded to know.

Ron straightened up and grinned at Harry. "I don't know how you did it mate, but she's human now."

Hermione's eyes narrowed and she looked at Ron who took a step back. "Hermione," he said with a bit of a whine, "you would have never threatened anyone when you were at school. You were too interested in observing the rules."

"He's right," Harry said softly, "but if you ask me, this Hermione is an improvement over something that was very good to start with."

Hermione's expression cycled through several emotions, pleasure and embarrassment over Harry's compliment mostly. She relaxed and leaned back against him more. "I can't take credit for it," Harry said. "I think her dragon wanted her to have more fun."

"_She does have fun now that she has you __Harry__,"_ Comaloth added.

Hermione blushed and looked down at the floor.

"We're only teasing you," Harry whispered. She looked up and smiled.

"Just remember I know more spells than you do," she said with a smile.

"Alright you lot, let's get the table set. The roast is just about ready," Molly proclaimed with a smile at their antics.

Arthur nodded, he was relieved that this was going better than he expected. He sat in his favorite chair as everyone scattered to do Molly's bidding and felt content. He wanted Harry to consider this place a home and it was clear he did.

As the group left the room he noted May standing uncertainly near the fireplace.

"May, please sit and relax, dinner will be ready shortly," he said in a kindly tone.

May sat and looked around the room, her eyes widened when she saw an animated painting.

"I know this seems very strange to you May," Arthur said, "but when you consider it, your world seems very strange to us as well. I've taken classes about the mundane world and I still don't understand most of it."

May smiled softly and nodded. "Its amazing how there can be two worlds living side by side and still be so ignorant of each other."

Arthur chuckled in reply. "Can I ask you a question?"

May blinked in surprise and nodded warily. "I suppose."

"Is Harry happy? Molly and I have worried about him since he first stepped foot in our home years ago. I even tried to talk Albus into letting us foster him after I met him, but Albus said that wasn't possible."

"I never knew that!" Harry exclaimed from the doorway. He held a pile of dishes in his hands.

Arthur grimaced slightly and turned to Harry. "I didn't tell you because nothing came of it. It was clear that something wasn't right at home for you lad. Even back then Molly and I saw it."

Harry's eyes glistened and he nodded silently. May stood and took the plates from his hands. "This is what Hermione and I have been telling you sweetheart. Its only you that feels you're not good enough for people to love."

She kissed his cheek and passed by him into the kitchen area leaving Arthur and Harry alone.

Arthur grinned widely. "Well that answers my question and puts my mind at ease. I do want you to know one thing Harry. No matter where you go, no matter where your extraordinary life takes you. The Burrow is and always will be your home too. You'll have family here."

Arthur stood and walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Now, let's go see what magic Molly has performed in her kitchen."

**Campbeltown Weyr, January 20th, 1997...**

Reginald Smithers trudged through the light snow, his feet making a crunching sound that was nearly lost in the noise created by the frigid wind that whipped past him. He sniffled miserably in the cold night air and wished he had followed his father's footsteps and took up potion making instead of opting for a job in the Ministry of Magic.

Reginald was not an auror despite working for the DMLE. Nothing so exciting for the short wizard with a permanent frightened expression. No, he was more important than a mere auror in his opinion. Reginald was the Ministry's only Ward breaker remaining from the old ministry.

He was sick the day the Ministry warding team attacked the Tuscany townhouse in London. In a single explosion his entire department had been wiped out and what remained was absorbed into the DMLE. In a single stroke he became the department's senior ward and curse breaker.

Now he had an utterly miserable assignment that came from the office of the Minister himself. He was supposed to perform an analysis on the wards surrounding the Weyr at Campbeltown and he was to do it covertly.

He had done few covert ward analysis jobs in the past, mostly sticking to breaking or designing wards. So he had only a little experience in covert work.

Reginald topped the small rise and stopped. The Weyr was ahead, just a half a kilometer away. It was impossible to miss as the Weyr was well lit despite the late hour. Even at this hour it was possible to see a land rover cruising along the fence line. It was obvious to Reginald that it was some kind of muggle patrol because no self respecting wizard would be inside one of those muggle contraptions.

Pulling his invisibility cloak tighter around him he increased his pace. He wanted to get this done with and get home where his warm bed waited for him.

With only his feet making any noise he crept towards the fence line. He stopped about a hundred meters away and carefully looked around before removing his invisibility cloak. The cloak would interfere with his analysis spells and wand movements. From his position he could clearly see the fence surrounding the Weyr and the lit roadway that followed the edge of the fence line. He was back far enough that he was certain that the patrol wouldn't see him. He didn't want to approach too closely or he might trigger the wards he intended to analyze.

"All right Reg, let's get this done so we can go home," he muttered to himself.

"_And just what is it that you intend to do?"_ asked a voice.

Reginald turned slowly around. Behind him in the snow stood a dragon with a rider on it's back. The rider held his crossbow in her hand. Reginald panicked and fumbled for his wand, then the rider fired her crossbow. Reginald had barely started to spin into his apparate when he was hit by the stunning bolt and he collapsed to the ground.

Cary Cayouette leaned back and relaxed slightly. "What do you suppose that was all about sweetie?"

Heeth moved closer to the unconscious man and nudged him with her snout. _"I don't know Cary, but he was up to no good."_

Cary nodded. She was a witch from the second impression, a former student of Madam Merlinas school for young Witches and the substitute Wing second for Wing four. "He's a wizard," she mused aloud.

"_And he has an ugly wand,"_ Heeth hissed angrily.

Cary blinked and her eyes hardened. She wasn't a powerful witch like some of the others in the Weyr, but she had enough power for this. She pulled her wand from her holster. The wizard carried at least one wand that used a dragon heart string.

"Accio wands!" she snapped. A student of Remus Lupin and his defense class, she knew she should summon more than one wand.

Two wands flew from the wizard, tearing through his clothing. They landed in her hand and she shivered in revulsion. Quickly she tossed them off to one side. "Burn them both sweetie," she said.

"_With pleasure,"_ Heeth said with a low growl.

Heeth turned her head and flamed the area where the wands fell. Harry had a standing order that any unattended heart string wands they come across were be destroyed and Cary was happy to follow that order. After all the wands were laying in the snow and were clearly unattended.

Cary watched the smoking ground for a moment, then she turned her attention back to the unconscious man. She knew that it was probable that the security patrol saw the fire, but she wanted to be thorough. "Sweetie, contact Soranth and let him know we've captured a wizard trying to sneak up on the fence line. Let Lee know we're on the south side, near fence post fourteen."

Lee was not only her Wing leader, but he was the senior rider for tonight's late watch patrol.

With the Weyr being so large, certain fence posts that supported the fence surrounding the Weyr were marked so that a rider could provide an approximate location.

"_Soranth says he and Lee will be right there, he's calling Weyr security right now,"_ replied Heeth. In the distance Cary could hear the sound of one of the security vehicles as it turned on its siren and raced back towards her spot.

Cary shivered slightly and then she lifted her leg over Heeth's large neck and slid down to the frozen ground. Her feet crunched through the light coating of snow as she approached the man on the ground. She twirled her wand and muttered under her breath. Ropes flew from her wand tip, securing the man tightly. She had removed his wands, but there was no telling what else he had hidden on him.

A land rover screeched to a halt just opposite her on the other side of the fence and she could see the driver talking on his radio, giving directions to someone else. Not far away she could make out the headlights of a land rover slewing in the snow as it approached her from the nearest gate.

Soranth and two other dragons from late watch landed about fifty feet away and walked up to her position. She was grateful for the distance, the dragons kicked up a lot of debris when landing and she was cold enough as it was without adding the bitter cold of Between to the mix.

Lee walked over to where she stood and looked down at the man. After a moments silence he looked up, the security vehicle was closer now. "We'll turn him over to security," he said, then he smiled at Cary. "Good catch Cary. Did you disarm him?"

"Heeth said he had a heart string wand, when I summoned his wands, I got two wands. I let Heeth burn them both since they were unattended," she replied with a smirk, then she pointed to an area nearby that was still smoking.

Lee looked at the smoking ground and nodded. "Good. We don't need that filth in our Weyr," he said with a grin. "Serves him right for letting his wands lay on the ground like that."

The land rover came to a halt and Sergeant Nichols stepped out with two others. Lee walked over to them and spoke quietly with Nichols for a minute, then one of the men walked over to where Cary stood. "Miss? Can you remove the ropes please? I'd like to put him in restraints," said the man. He held up a pair of handcuffs for Cary to see.

She nodded and waved her wand at her captive, banishing the ropes.

The soldier nodded his thanks and walked over to the unconscious wizard. With a grunt he flipped the man over onto his stomach and cuffed him. The other soldiers approached him and helped carry the wizard back to the land rover where they shoved him into the back seat.

Lee walked over to Cary. "Are you able to continue your patrol?" he asked.

Cary nodded. "Heeth and I are fine," she replied.

"All right, but when you come off watch expect that people will want to talk to you," Lee warned.

She nodded and turned back towards Heeth. A quick glance at her watch caused her to sigh. Four am, she thought, only two more hours and we'll be able to get warm again.

She settled into position and cast a warming charm on herself, then she signaled to Heeth. The pair leapt skyward. As she rose in the air she could see the land rover heading back to the gate and ultimately the security office.

"What do you think Heeth?" she asked finally.

"_I don't know Cary, he wasn't coming to hurt us, but he wasn't coming as a friend either,"_ replied her dragon.

**Office of the Minister, Ministry of Magic...**

Sir William O'Hearny turned in his chair when his computer signaled the arrival of a priority message from the Prime Minister's office. Ordinarily he didn't get much email as a rule, most of it being routed to his secretary before arriving at his desk, but there were a few people that had a direct line to his in-box.

He double clicked the line and the message opened. As he read his eyes grew wider and wider. "Alejandro?" he said in a strangled voice.

Croaker looked up from the report he was reading. "Sir William?"

"Would you care to explain why the Ministry's only remaining ward breaker is now in Army Intelligence custody? The Weyr was going to turn him over to DMLE until they found his ministry ID badge on him. He was apparently caught approaching the Weyr this morning at four in the morning."

Croaker sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry sir, but the Weyr changed it's warding scheme and I wanted to know what they had done. I sent Smithers to perform a covert ward analysis. I'll send someone from DMLE to get Smithers."

Sir William glanced over at Arthur who was staring at Croaker with a look of astonishment, then he turned his attention back towards Croaker.

"You'll do no such thing," Sir William said frostily. Sir William sighed and leaned back in his chair, then he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alejandro, while your curiosity is admirable, it is sadly misplaced. The Weyr has every right to use whatever warding scheme it selects and we do not have a right to analyze it without a court order. Am I right Arthur?"

Sir William turned to pin Arthur with his gaze. The elder Weasley nodded, he was surprised by how intimidating Sir William could be even without any magic. "Yes sir, that is correct. The Weyr isn't under any form of investigation that I'm aware of and I haven't heard of any court writs regarding it."

The regular courts had created a special magical branch where the justices and personnel were briefed on Magic. After the fall of the Ministry to the rightful government, they took over what had been formerly one of the jobs of the Wizengamot.

The old Wizengamot had been disbanded by order of the Queen and the Department of Revision was putting together a case to present to her Majesty that would see a much reduced form of the Wizengamot put into place. It made sense to create a legislative body much like the House of Commons in Parliament, only this time there would be strict rules under which the new body could operate.

Sir William stood. "I will go to the Weyr today to apologize on behalf of the Ministry for Magic. I will ask that Mister Smithers be released into my custody pending a formal Ministry investigation. But I also expect that you will draft an apology to the Weyr as well Mr. Croaker. The quicker we can resolve this the better chance it can be forgotten because if the Queen hears of this, we'll all be in line for the chopping block. Her Majesty is a very firm believer in the rule of law and following proper procedures."

Croaker paled and nodded vigorously. This was one of those unique cases where minor language differences resulted in unexpected results. Sir William's reference to the chopping block meant getting fired, Alejandro on the other hand took it more literally.

Sir William walked from the room, his anger plainly visible to all. Once he was gone and the door swung shut Arthur turned to Croaker. "Alejandro why? What could you possibly gain by examining the Weyr's wards?"

Croaker shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I wanted to know what they put in place. When they shunted us to their security office I realized we had no information on their wards."

Arthur frowned. "We have no right to know what they have unless they ask us to get involved or if they are subject to an ongoing criminal investigation. It's a slippery slope you've put yourself upon Alejandro. Where will it stop? I know Buckingham Palace is heavily warded, so is #10 Downing and Parliament. Where will you draw the line? Now you tasked Smithers, our only certified ward breaker, with a job that didn't have proper authorization. He stands to lose his job unless you step in and tell the review board that he was acting on your orders."

Croaker tried to glare at Arthur, but the elder Weasley held his ground. Croaker knew Weasley was right, but he didn't need Weasley to remind him of that. He abruptly stood and walked out of the office.

Arthur sighed and shook his head in dismay. He could only hope Croaker would do what was right because this sort of incident could seriously hurt the relationship between the Ministry and the Weyr.

**Campbeltown Weyr, January 21st 1997...**

Harry placed the phone back on the hook then he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. The door to his office opened and he tried hard to ignore it.

"Tough day?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"You have no idea," he mumbled in reply. He opened his eyes and saw Hermione leaning against his desk, close enough to touch. He absently reached out and caressed her leg.

Hermione moved slightly to give him a bit better access to her leg. "Why don't you tell me?" she asked. His gentle touch gave her chills, it wasn't meant to be a sexual touch, but she couldn't help feeling it was. She understood that Harry had a craving for touch that he could only really indulge in when they were in private. He had had so little in the way of tactile contact while growing up that when he realized that the girls wanted him to touch them, he did; as often as he could.

"That guy Smithers, really did work for the Ministry of Magic. He thought he was working from approved orders and was sent here by Croaker to do a ward analysis of the Weyr. Only thing is, he didn't have approved orders. That kind of thing requires a court order these days. And you know the courts aren't about to provide that kind of order without a valid reason.

"Sir William was here asking for Smithers to be released to him while the Ministry conducted an investigation. I was about to send him on his way when the Prime Minister called and asked me to release Smithers as a personal favor."

Hermione frowned. "Oh? Why would he get involved?"

Harry's brow furrowed and he looked up at her. "I'm not really sure, but I can tell you what I think."

She motioned for him to continue.

He rubbed his temple for a moment, then he spoke. "I think, and mind you this is only a guess. But I believe that everyone wants this to go away as quietly as possible. If the Queen finds out people will lose their jobs. If the magical press found out it would be a big black mark against Sir William. The Ministry for Magic is finally finding its feet and this could disrupt that."

"So they want to cover this up?" Hermione exclaimed.

"No, the Prime Minister promised me they would investigate and fix things so this can't happen again," he replied. He leaned forward in his chair and looked down at the desk to hide his smirk. "Besides it wasn't entirely one sided. I mentioned the Weyr's intention to produce passports for our dragons and maybe a few years down the road to issue passports to our riders as well. Prime Minister Major is a smart man, he knew that I wasn't just bringing it up for no good reason. It was the price of my cooperation."

Hermione shook her head in amazement and considered just how much Harry had changed since he impressed. The Weyr would issue dragon passports and Her Majesty's government would not contest the issue. She was very surprised that Harry essentially blackmailed the government into letting the Weyr produce their own passports.

Harry paused and his brow furrowed. "There's something else strange going on. Have you noticed that there is an election coming up, but the only man that seems to be running is Mr. Blair? I like him well enough, but it strikes me as odd that the Prime Minister isn't doing more for his campaign or his party."

Hermione shook her head and grinned ruefully. "I hate to admit this but I haven't been paying that much to the election politics. Mostly I've been studying and reading books that Maggie has been loaning me. I wasn't sure about it at first, but it's really fascinating. I'm sorry I doubted you when you offered me this."

Harry returned her grin. Her comment about not paying attention to the politics didn't surprise him one bit. Like so many others Hermione was slipping into their new roles within the Weyr and that meant re-ordering their priorities. He reached out and caressed her leg again. "Have I told you just how proud I am of you?" he asked gently.

She blinked in shock and shivered slightly at his touch. "What?" she stammered in surprise.

"Hermione, you once pointed out just how hard and strong we're all growing up. Remember?"

She nodded uncertainly.

"You were one of the riders who had the hardest time of it," he said softly. "You came from a loving home with loving parents. Impressing Comaloth completely threw your plans for your future out the window. For more than a year after you impressed you tried very hard to rearrange those plans to fit Comaloth and the Weyr in."

She looked at him in surprise and he chuckled. "Oh please, I know you very well by now sweetheart. I may have to use my notebook to remember everything I have to do, or want to do, but you have that same list in your head. And I'll bet you a back rub you had everything planned out, step fifteen, enter university, step sixteen, graduate with honors," he said teasingly. Hermione flushed slightly but didn't deny it. "All that changed when you impressed Comaloth. I have no doubt that you still have that list, but the heading at the top of the list has changed from 'Hermione Granger, smartest witch' to 'Hermione Granger, dragon rider'.

"That's what you've become. A dragon rider in every sense of the word. I have no doubt in my mind that you will be as valuable to the Weyr as May will be. I'm proud of what you've managed to do. It wasn't easy for you and it wasn't always a joyful experience. I am proud of you just like I'm proud of May. My girls are the very best in the Weyr, in the future, when people say dragon riders, it will be people like you and May or Ronan and Karen that come to their mind."

Hermione smiled and a single tear slid down her cheek. "You always manage to surprise me Harry Potter," she said softly. "Just when I think I know how you'll react to something you surprise me," she said.

Harry stood and embraced her, holding onto her tightly. For Hermione this was a major point in her relationship with Harry. She knew who she was now, a dragon rider, and mate to the Weyrleader. It was something she would fight to keep. Harry loved her and May equally and that was all that mattered.

**Campbeltown Weyr, February 28****th****, 1997...**

"Harry!"

Harry bolted upright in his bed and he looked around in confusion. May and Hermione lay sleeping in the bed next to him. He had been certain that someone had shouted his name, but now he wasn't sure, it almost sounded like his own voice. Maybe he had dreamed it?

"Harry, not now," May murmured sleepily. "You'll wake Hermione and her flying monkeys. No, don't set the straw man on fire!"

Harry stared incredulously at May for a moment and made a note to hide her copy of the Wizard of Oz. He turned away from May and his feeling of foreboding increased again. Something was wrong, but he didn't know what.

Frowning, he carefully climbed over May to get out of the bed. Once he was out of the bed he slipped on his robe and slippers and walked out of the room. A quick look at the dragon stall showed all three dragons sleeping peacefully in their beds.

Comaloth and Trath had contributed eggs to the last hatching and would continue to do so once per year until they were unable to lay eggs. It was a decision that the three dragons had made among themselves and announced to their riders. It surprised no one that the dragons were reducing their egg output, reflecting Harry's desire to keep the Weyr population down to around five hundred bonded and five hundred non-bonded dragons.

The two females weren't sure if they would both lay for the same hatching or for alternate ones. But this year they opted to skip the February hatching. Personally he was glad they made that decision for themselves and didn't involve their riders, that would have been a difficult conversation for sure.

He shook his head and thought for a moment, trying to recall the roster for today. _"Norboth? Is everything alright?"_ he sent to the chief watch dragon.

"_Weyrleader? Everything is fine at the moment. Is there a problem?"_ she replied worriedly.

"_I'm not sure,"_ he said uneasily. _"That's why I asked you."_

"_Everything is fine here Weyrleader. Abbey wants to know if there is a problem and should she wake the ready wing?"_

"_No, not yet."_

"_Weyrleader,"_ suddenly a voice called, interrupting his conversation with Abbey Rhode's dragon.

"_Polenth?"_ he replied. His anxiety cranked up a few more notches, for Polenth to be contacting him at this hour there had to be a major problem. He really hoped it wasn't another wizard attack on Gringotts. They had been prepared for the last one, but a surprise attack right now would be a disaster.

"_Weyrleader, the Lord Holder of the Goblins has just informed me that the wards on Nevado del Huila are triggering. The Lord Holder says this is imminent eruption warning."_

"Shit!" Harry said aloud, and then he grimaced and glanced at the door to the bedroom. Both girls would have taken him to task for cursing like that if they had been awake.

"Norboth, tell Abbey to wake the Weyr, we have an emergency," he said aloud.

"_Yes Weyrleader."_

"_Polenth, thank you for your warning. Please pass along our thanks to Lord Ragnok as well,"_ Harry sent as he rushed back into the bedroom and threw on the lights. Both girls complained about the light, then fell silent as a siren sounded across the Weyr. In the distance they could hear the bellowing of the ready wing as they scrambled to assemble out on the tarmac.

"Mayleth?" he sent, trying to contact the senior dragon at Nevado del Huila. He received a brief impression of total chaos, a veritable cacophony of jumbled images and an overwhelming fear in reply. Harry shook free from the connection and quickly scooped up some clothes.

Harry ignored both the girls who were demanding answers as he struggled to get dressed and work out in his mind what they needed to do. The goblins had told him that the wards could trigger as much as two weeks early, but they suggested treating it as an emergency. The connection he had with Mayleth suggested it was a lot worse than anyone expected.

"Harry, what's going on?" asked Hermione, finally breaking through his concentration.

Harry glanced up to see her sitting in bed staring at him. A sleep tousled Hermione was an adorable sight in his book even if she didn't agree with him. "I woke up feeling uneasy, like I knew something was wrong and I couldn't shake the feeling," he explained. "I was just checking in with the watch dragon when Polenth called to say the volcano wards at Nevado del Huila were triggering. I think it's a lot worse than that, I tried talking to Mayleth but I couldn't reach him properly."

Light flooded into the bedroom from the windows as someone threw on the high powered lights in front of the hangars so the wings could assemble. Around the Weyr riders tumbled out of their beds and rushed to dress.

**Nevado del Huila Weyr #29, Columbia, South America...**

Barely ten minutes had passed from the time Harry received the warning until they arrived above the threatened Weyr. Even with their renewed intelligence the dragons below him were in a panic. Harry suddenly realized that the neat, orderly evacuation he had in mind was not going to work.

Maylith, the senior dragon was bellowing in fear as nearly non-stop earthquakes shook the ground with a terrible violence. The nearby mountain had a towering column of smoke extending many miles into the sky. The sky was quickly darkening and ash and small pellets of pumice rained down on everyone.

Harry scowled instinctively ducked, he knew he shouldn't land his wings or his own dragons might also panic. Dragons tended to expect the ground to be firm beneath their feet and complained very loudly about any problems that involved the ground or their perception of that firmness. Something as simple vertigo could drive some dragons into near incoherence.

The bonded dragons fared better than their non-bonded brethren, but they still had problems with the ground moving. It also explained their distinct unease if they landed on board a ship. Ground isn't meant to move in their opinion.

"Riders button up your clothing tightly," he muttered, then he pulled his goggles down over his eyes. The dragon wings were far tougher than human skin and could withstand the ash fall longer, but Harry knew they couldn't stay too long. So far it was mostly ash and the occasional lightweight pumice; but that wouldn't last and when the heavier stuff started falling, it would be hot enough to melt lead or knock a dragon from the sky.

Considering the state of the dragons below Harry knew he would have to take drastic measures.

"_Dragons!"_ Harry roared mentally. His voice ripped across the planet rousing whole Weyrs from their slumber. _"Dragons of __Nevado del Huila__! Take wing, in the air you will not feel the earth move under your feet!"_

Slowly, as if unable to disobey his commands, the dragons of Nevado del Huila rose into the air and calmed. Maylith rose up to a position near Chekiath who barked a sharp growl at him. The large dragon looked away, it was a rebuke from the Weyrleader's dragon and everyone knew it.

"Easy Cheki, Maylith experienced the same thing as all of his Weyr," Harry murmured, then he turned his attention to Maylith. "This place is no longer safe for your clan. We must leave this place. Justh at Romeral Weyr will welcome you as you once welcomed him."

"_Weyrleader, what about our eggs?"_ asked Maylith.

Harry gasped and quickly scanned the ground below him. It didn't take long for him to spot the Weyr hatching grounds and the eggs resting there. "Damnation," he swore. As an unmanned Weyr, these dragons had only a few eggs a year, hatched on their own grounds like they had been doing for centuries. More than thirty eggs sat in their hatching area fully exposed.

He was about to organize a party to recover the eggs for a straight flight to Romal Weyr when things were taken out of his hands. The ground stopped trembling and there was a moment of eerie silence. Then the silence was broken with a mighty roar as the volcano only a few miles distant belched steam and smoke skyward. All of the dragons tumbled in the air for a moment from the pressure wave.

Harry heard a scream and he looked around quickly, then he spotted Karen Khan and her Neruth tumbling in the air. A rock the size of a small car flew past her, just narrowly missing. Neruth managed to straighten herself out midair, but not before Karen had been totally dislodged from her seat. Only her harness prevented Karen from being thrown totally off her dragon, as it was, she had to scramble back into position, then she frantically checked her harness for damage.

Harry knew there was no time to waste. Without consideration to himself or Chekiath he nudged the large dragon into a dive. "Everyone except wings one and two evacuate to Romeral. One and two, follow me!" he snapped.

Both wings followed their leader and quickly spotted their goal. There was a huge pyroclastic cloud sliding down the mountain side in the direction of the Weyr and he wasn't planning on sticking around for it to arrive. Chekiath swooped low over the nesting ground and snatched up an egg, then he jumped Between. Less than a minute later the air over the former Weyr was empty. And four minutes after that a searing cloud of ash and poisonous gases swept over the Weyr obliterating everything in its path.

Harry would later learn that this eruption was only minor compared to the one that followed four days later and nearly blew out half the mountainside.

Nevado del Huila was gone, wiped out and it would be years before the dragons could return to their old Weyr.

Harry decided it would be best to fold the two Weyrs into one. Romeral absorbed Nevado del Huila and Harry set Justh and Maylith both as senior dragon. Maylith accepted the role but insisted that Justh should hold the greater authority since Romeral was his Weyr. Condron and Maziang Weyr both showed up at Romeral shortly after Harry did and with their help, they were able to expand the Weyr to comfortably fit both sets of dragons.

To Campbeltown's intense dismay, less than half of the rescued eggs would survive to hatching. Harry and the others believed a trip Between could harm an egg, but now they had proof of that. It had been a desperate measure to save the eggs and to everyone's grief, it had cost them dearly.

**Dragon Infirmary, Hangar seven, Campbeltown Weyr, May 20****th**** 1997...**

Harry ran a shaky hand through his hair and he paced back and forth in front of the open hangar doors. Chekiath crooned softly trying to calm him but it wasn't easy for either of them. Hermione pushed her way past Ronan who stood nearby looking unhappy and a bit bewildered. She stepped up to Harry and wrapped him in a tight hug.

The entire compliment of dragons from Campbeltown was arrayed in wing formations, and behind them, thousands of non-bonded dragons waited. Every few minutes more dragons appeared overhead and joined their fellow dragons in their vigil. The dragons had been arriving in ones and twos for the last twenty hours.

Harry stiffened in Hermione's embrace for a moment, and then he wrapped his arms around her, drawing what comfort he could from her support and love.

"Have faith in May love," Hermione said in a voice choked with emotion.

"I do," he replied in a whisper, "but there are some fights that can't be won."

She tightened her grip around him and he did the same. For now all they could do is wait.

Eddie Took stood nearby talking in a low tone with Sirius and Remus. Harry had called her earlier in the day and asked that she come to the Weyr. She had been to the Weyr several times in the past week, but today was different. When she arrived today she was immediately struck by the strange silence that pervaded the Weyr. Normally a busy and noisy place, now the dragons were silent and the riders spoke in hushed tones.

The mood seemed to invade both the science complex and the SAS base next doors as few sounds were heard. It struck Eddie as if the whole area was waiting for something. Something that wasn't good.

The riders were still going about their business, patrols were up, but Eddie could see no one had their heart in it and they were merely going through the motions today. She knew the dragons were upset and very unhappy, there wasn't a single dragon present who didn't have bright yellow twirling eyes.

It struck her strange that they would be so upset, and so quiet. Normally an upset dragon would make it's upset known in a rather noisy fashion, but not today.

May stepped from the large stall and pulled the curtain closed then she walked outside to where Harry and Hermione stood. "He's asking for you Harry. And you too Eddie," she said softly. "The sunlight is hurting his eyes so make sure you pull the curtains tight behind you."

Harry swallowed convulsively; he didn't want to do this! Holding tightly onto Hermione's hand he led her into the dragon infirmary and stopped in front of the curtain. "Are you sure?" Hermione asked in a whisper.

He nodded. "I have to do this, but without you and May I don't think I can," he replied.

"You are stronger than you know Harry," Eddie said softly; she stood nearby watching the Weyrleader. "But it is only human to reach out to our loved ones and draw from their strength when confronted with situations like this."

Harry nodded and looked at both of his girls. "I need you with me." It was an admission of weakness that normally he wouldn't have made in public. The girls knew that and understood, they were feeling the same way.

May nodded and stepped closer, and then she pulled the curtain apart just enough for someone to slip through. The curtains had been installed by the elves several days earlier and completely blocked the stall from any direct light.

Harry took a deep breath and followed her in. One by one they passed the curtain into the stall. It was dim inside and Harry pushed down an irrational surge of fear, it reminded him of his cupboard at the Dursleys.

Ronan watched the curtains wave briefly, separating the stall from the rest of the infirmary. Finally he turned and signaled to Draco who trotted over. "Assemble the riders in dress uniforms. I don't know how much time we have so tell them to hustle."

Draco nodded and dashed off to issue orders.

"Why does this hurt so much?" Karen whispered brokenly.

Ronan wrapped an arm around her and kissed her cheek gently. "Because he is one of ours and he's touched every one of us in some way. Look," he said, pointing out to the runway. "They have been arriving from around the world all day long. They know."

Karen spared a glance to the thousands of dragons lined up, just watching the infirmary and waiting. She leaned against him and sniffled loudly.

"Come on love, let's go get changed," he said trying to be strong for her. But she knew better, she could hear his voice cracking and his eyes had a watery look.

Inside the stall Spath lay quietly, his only noise came from the rough wheeze of his breathing. His wings lay limply at his sides and he barely moved at all when they entered. He had been ill for the past week, but it wasn't until yesterday that they had any idea of just how bad things were. The intense heat source that all dragons had; was extinguished in the ancient dragon. The elder dragon was dying and Hagrid and May could only guess as to the reason.

Old age was their best guess, but they weren't sure what was causing the elder dragon's illness. The onset of the illness had been sudden and brutal. One moment the elder had been healthy, the next he had to be helped into the infirmary.

Not knowing the cause of the illness hadn't stopped them from trying with an ever increasing sense of desperation to save the ancient dragon. Finally yesterday May gave up and spent her time trying to keep the dragon comfortable; she just didn't have enough information to help her treat Spath.

Harry gasped and stood rock still for a moment, and then the tears slid down his cheeks. Spath lay curled up on the sands, his normally brown/bronze coloring reduced to a dull, almost flat brown. Harry loved the old dragon and hated the helpless feeling he got seeing his friend like this and being powerless to help him.

Harry moved forward and pitched to his knees so that he was level with Spath's head. The ancient dragon opened his eyes and he looked at his Weyrleader for a long moment.

"_Weyrleader, thank you for coming here."_

Harry reached out and caressed his eye ridges gently. He was alarmed to discover the normally hard eye ridges seemed soft like putty. "How can I not? My elder dragon commands the Weyrleader even if he doesn't know it."

Faint streaks of blue and green flashed in Spath's eyes for a brief moment before they faded back to their drab gray again. _"Thank you Weyrleader you honor me. I have been blessed among my kind. I was given a chance to help lead our race out of our bondage by helping you. I have watched you grow from weyrling to the mightiest Weyrleader the world will ever __know__. For us you turned your back on your people, for us you bled and wept. For us you fought the world and for us you won."_

"Shhhh Spath, you must rest and get better, your Weyr needs you... I need you," Harry replied brokenly. Tears slid down his cheeks and he made no attempt to hide them. Spath helped turn Harry from frightened school boy into The Weyrleader and Harry knew he owed the old dragon a great deal.

Spath's head shifted slightly and he looked around the room before turning his attention back to Harry. _"We both know the fire is out, my time __to become an ancestor is near __Weyrleader. Now it is time for you to be strong for your Weyr and your mates. Stand tall and be what you were born to be Harry Potter. You will be the Weyrleader that all will remember and I will have helped you become that greatness. __I am content with that._

Spath paused and took a shuddering breath and moaned softly.

"_Now I understand why __we__ go Between. It is to escape the pain of dying. __The instinct to go is very hard to fight when it hurts so much,__" _the dragon said haltingly. Spath turned his head slightly to look at Eddie Took. Understanding dawned in the assembled visitors; Spath had spent the last few days struggling to keep from jumping Between. Hermione gripped Harry's shoulder tightly and he could hear her choke back a sob.

"_Green Lady... Eddie Took, I am going to meet your Goddess. I had thought I would have had time to ask you to accept me into your faith. I hope she doesn't mind too much if I didn't have that time. You say she loves even dragons and I intend to ask her about that when I meet her. I am content because you give me hope that things do not end. I have seen too many turns, but my last turns were the very best. I will also thank her for sending us The Weyrleader to deliver us."_

Spath fell silent and everyone held their breath.

"Goddess bless dearest Spath. The Goddess will welcome you Spath as she welcomes all," Eddie said softly, her face was streaked with her own tears. The dragons presented unique issues which she had never considered before. Her time among them had taught her to love and respect these gentle beings. "Her will is a mystery, but her hand is seen everywhere. Even in the dragons. The Goddess will be there when you look for her."

"_I will ask her when I see her,"_ Spath repeated faintly. _"Too many __turn__s and too many dragons have preceded me, now it is my turn to face the unknown. May, I think I would like to sleep now, but tell the Master Smith that I have prevented my leap Between __so that__ he may study my shell. Let my passing set an example to dragon-kind. It is not an easy thing to ask a dragon to do, but as long as they know they will be helping their kin, some will fight the urge to go Between._

"_Dronth the dream walker is now eldest, Weyrleader. He is a good dragon. He knows to come here now."_

"None can replace you," Harry choked out.

"_Everyone is replaced eventually Weyrleader but thank you. Your gift of family is even greater than freeing us from the time of beasts. I am with my family at the end of things. It is comforting, __thank you __my family__."_ Spath closed his eyes and May stepped forward and checked him over for a few minutes, then she turned to the others.

"He's asleep, he barely had enough energy to talk to us. Let's go outside and leave him to sleep. Dobby will watch over him," May said softly. Harry became aware of Dobby sitting silently in a corner, his eyes fixed on the great dragon. The little elf glanced up at Harry and smiled weakly. His large eyes shimmered with unshed tears and Harry's eyes filled to match his little friend.

Eddie stepped forward and whispered a benediction over the sleeping dragon asking her patron goddess to ease his passage. Spath had suffered greatly these last few days and Eddie couldn't remember a human passing with such dignity after enduring such pain.

Harry led the others out of the stall making sure to let as little sunlight in as possible. Just outside he was enveloped in a hug from Hagrid. Harry understood and hugged his friend back.

Hagrid released Harry before spots started to appear in his vision and he staggered a little before standing straight. Harry wiped the tears from his eyes and waved towards the assembled dragons. "Is that your doing?" he asked quietly.

Hagrid shook his head. "No. They've been arrivin' all day. There are dragons from every weyr in the world here now."

Harry eyed the mass of dragons and shook his head, there had to be at least two thousand dragons present. Even as he eyed the dragons, the combined wings from Maziang and Condron arrived and landed. Like his own riders, the other two Weyrs were in their full dress uniforms.

Harry sighed and turned to Hermione. "I guess we have company tonight, get a hold of Susan and make sure the kitchen hall is aware of the extra people we'll need to feed," he said, and then he strode forward to greet the other Weyrleaders.

The wing leaders and the elves put their heads together and in short order a long row of tables was set up near the entrance to the Infirmary and some people lined up at a buffet. Few were hungry enough to bother.

Harry spoke with Kinny the elf that ran the construction crew and had him set up several large bonfires. The mood was deeply somber as they waited for news. People stood or sat around in clusters as the sun slowly dipped below the horizon and one of the elves started up the fires.

Harry sat with Hermione, Eddie, Ronan, Karen, Sirius and Remus on a blanket that Hermione had conjured. Hermione had also transfigured dress uniforms for herself and Harry. May was with Hagrid inside the Infirmary tending to Spath. The group spoke in quiet tones. "This scares me," Karen finally said.

Harry turned back to the conversation that he had been ignoring.

"What does child?" Eddie asked gently.

"You do, in a way, Eddie," Karen admitted. "Before I impressed, my parents were Church of England and you believed in something that no one could prove. Miracles were suspect and never truly proven. You either believed it was a true miracle or you didn't. My father believed enough to become a lay pastor. My parents believed and I was slowly coming to doubt their beliefs in the face of an ever more scientific and technological world.

"When I met you, you brought to my attention a faith that was supposed to be dead and buried a thousand years ago. I didn't have a problem with that, but when Neruth started telling me about your guiding spirits and I saw them through her eyes it was troubling. Religions weren't supposed to have such visible and compelling evidence."

Eddie smiled at the girl. Karen sat between Ronan's legs, leaning back against him like a backrest of a chair. "What you call compelling evidence may exist in a lot of religions if you just look for it," she said gently. "I haven't the eyesight of a dragon, but I had faith in my spirit guides. When Chekiath told me he could see them, I was surprised that he could, but not surprised that they were there helping me."

Eddie paused and lifted up her palm and whispered a brief prayer. A small flame appeared and danced lazily over her palm. "Is magic a power that some have because of genetics or a manifestation of a greater power? I have no talent for wandless magic and yet, the fire did not need a wand to create. Your 'compelling' proof might be more common than you know dear. You just haven't looked for it yet."

Karen shook her head. "I suppose what I was trying to say was that before I impressed Neruth I was starting to seriously doubt my own faith and that of my parents. Now, things have changed, there are possibilities that I hadn't considered."

Eddie dispelled the flames and smiled gently at the girl. "The very fact that you recognize new possibilities is hopeful. I am not here to convert you as much as I am here to help you see those possibilities for yourself. You fear the unknown. You fear what is happening to Spath because that is ultimately everyone's fate. If I can help ease the fear you have then I have done the Goddess' will."

"You seem so sure of yourself," Karen said weakly in protest.

Eddie chuckled and crossed her arms, looking at the girl. "That is faith sweetheart. I am comforted that the dragons can see my guides, but I knew they were there long before a dragon told me that he saw them."

Karen fell silent considering the Druid Priestess' words.

"_Weyrleader?"_

Harry looked up. He had been sitting quietly listening to Eddie and Karen talk and hadn't noticed the approach of another dragon. He looked apologetically to Hermione and gently untangled himself and stood. "Dronth, I'm glad you're here but I do wish it were under better circumstances," Harry said softly.

Dronth was the next oldest dragon on the planet and he had an ability that only a few other dragons had. He could share memories with people like all dragons, but he could also insert himself into those memories so that he could explain them to the people. For that reason he was called a dream walker by the dragons even if technically he didn't walk in a dream.

The group on the blanket watched the exchange intently. _"As do I Weyrleader, I've always known that I've lived longer than I should have, but didn't understand why until you woke us. I promise I will do my best to advise you."_

"I know you will Dronth, our duty will allow for nothing less. Will you move to Campbeltown?" asked Harry.

The Romanian Longhorn looked around for a moment, _"It is colder here, but I will adapt. As much as I love my home, my duty to __our __kind is more important. With your permission I will move in right away."_

Harry thought for a moment. "The next senior dragon of Chot Malrire is Pukanth right?"

"_Yes Weyrleader."_

It surprised no one that Harry easily remembered the names of senior dragons he had met only once. He might not know the name of every dragon, but he was intimately familiar with the names of every dragon in a position of authority in every weyr.

Harry nodded. "I will speak to him tonight and let him know that you're moving in and he is now Senior dragon of Chot Malrire. I will also tell him that he can still seek you out for advice. Tomorrow I would suggest seeking out our Weyrling master and discuss the Weyrling training schedule. Spath took great pleasure in teaching the Weyrlings, I hope you will as well. There are a lot of new things to learn and a lot of things to remember."

"_I am sure I will enjoy it Weyrleader. It will be a pleasure to pass on our ways to the Weyrlings."_

"Tinny?" Harry called.

An elf smaller than Dobby, appeared with a small pop. "Yes Weyrleader sir?"

"Tinny, this is Dronth, he is moving into the Weyr tonight. Dronth will be our new elder," Harry said gently.

The little elf's ears drooped. "Spath dragon isn't getting better?"

Harry dropped down to one knee so he could look the little elf in the eye. "Spath is a very old dragon. I wish with all my heart that he would get better but not even magic can turn back the clock."

Tinny nodded and a single tear slid down his cheek and splashed against the ground. Tinny looked at Dronth. "Dronth dragon you don't eat elves?" Tinny asked cautiously.

Dronth rumbled with amusement. _"Little elf, until today I have never even met one of your kind. I wouldn't dream of eating you. A meal lasts, at best a week, a friend lasts for a lifetime."_

Tinny smiled softly and he nodded, causing his ears to flap noisily. "Come, I show you where to sleep and help make your bed."

Harry watched the odd duo walk away, he shook his head then he moved to sit next to Hermione. "Have you noticed that every elf at the Weyr has one particular dragon that they are close friends with?" he asked suddenly.

Hermione looked at him quizzically. "Are you suggesting that elves could impress?" she asked incredulously.

Harry chuckled and shook his head. "No I don't think so, but I do think it's odd that every one of our elves has a favorite dragon and they spend their time either with the other elves, or that one particular dragon," he replied. "Besides, I've never met a young elf and I don't know anyone that has, I wouldn't even know what age they could impress at."

"_They are all too old Harry,"_ Chekiath said. _"Dobby is nearly forty turns old."_

Harry sat heavily next to Hermione, stunned by his dragon's announcement. "Dobby is nearly forty?"

"You know," Eddie mused with a frown, "I can't recall hearing about any young elves either. Saint Patrick's hospital in Dublin uses elves extensively, but I've never seen a young elf."

"Call Dobby," Hermione offered. "He'll come to your call. You can ask him."

Harry shook his head. "He's helping May with Spath. I don't want to interfere with that. I could ask Tinny or Jojo, but I don't know them as well as I do Dobby. Lord knows how skittish they can be, I don't want to scare them away. As important as they are, they are easily spooked because of how they've been treated."

Hermione nodded and kept silent. Her views on house elves had changed radically since she impressed, plus she knew her Harry and knew he would never mistreat an elf. He was paying them three times the Ministry set wage and treated each one like they were personally part of his family. Each elf was bonded to either the Weyr or to an individual, but unlike the old bonds, this was was controlled by magical contract that allowed either party to break the contract.

Sirius scowled. "I clearly remember Kreacher coming to work for my family. Preacher, our old elf had died and Kreacher suddenly appeared one day after that. My mother said it was part of the wizard/elf contract that a new elf would appear to replace an old one."

Harry looked to Remus meaningfully and the older man nodded. "Yes Harry I agree, I think it's worth looking into. Did you notice what Cheki said? He didn't say the elves couldn't impress, he just said they were too old. Can you imagine an elf impressing a dragon? It would strengthen the case that the elves are as sentient as we are."

"They are," Harry replied heatedly.

Remus held up a calming hand. "Relax Harry, I agree, but not everyone does. This would bolster the argument for Elves' rights."

"An elf for a rider," Hermione whispered to herself in an awed tone.

"It may not be possible. Goblins can't impress," he reminded her. He wasn't against the idea, but dragons had been designed to bond with humans. Somehow he didn't think Elves and the other sentient species would be able to bond with dragons.

Harry reached over and squeezed her hand in support. It was clear that there were missing pieces to the story of elves. Pieces that he wanted to know about.

He opened his mouth to speak again when a suddenly wave of anguish hit him like a tsunami. Tears sprang to his eyes and the dragons began to keen loudly. Hermione gasped and bit back a cry, she collapsed against Harry weeping and he wrapped his arms around her.

Chekiath reared up on his hind legs and bellowed his anguish to the uncaring sky. Within seconds half the dragons were bellowing in distress. No words were spoken by any dragon or rider, none needed to be. Even the un-bonded humans knew instantly that the Weyr, riders and dragons were marking the passing of the elder dragon for the planet.

No words needed to be said, Spath was no more and everyone present felt his passing.

Hagrid and May stepped from behind the curtain, the anguish in their expressions was obvious to all. Hagrid headed straight to his Selanth so they could mourn together. May headed to where Harry and Hermione huddled together on the blanket.

May stumbled to her knees next to Harry and Hermione. "I'm so sorry, I couldn't save him. I tried everything I swear," May said brokenly to Harry, as if she had been responsible for Spath's passing. Harry didn't say anything, he just reached for her wrapping an arm around her. Hermione joined them in a three way hug, weeping softly and trying to comfort each other.

"Dear Goddess," whispered an awestruck Eddie. _If anyone needed proof that dragons love as much as humans, here was the proof,_ she thought in awe. She had seen how the dragons responded to the death of Albus Dumbledore, but this was ten times worse than that. All around her she could see riders either clutching at their dragons or their partners. In a few places people huddled with their dragons and their partners. The feeling of loss even pressed against her while she observed the dragons and their human partners.

Nearby Comaloth, Trath and Chekiath huddled together, their flanks touching their heads bowed down to the ground.

"The death of a dragon is a painful experience," Remus offered speaking loud enough to be heard. "The death of the elder dragon must be worse. The dragons love and revere Harry, but they knew that Spath guided Harry and helped him which in turn helped all dragons. Dronth will be very important and much respected by the dragons. But Spath will be remembered as the elder than helped reunite man and dragon."

Eddie nodded thoughtfully, and then she stood. An intense calm descended upon her and in that calm she knew what she must do. Nothing had ever been as clear in her life before as what she must do now. Her guides were whispering encouragement and as she listened, magic seemed to gather around the little woman like a warm protective blanket woven with love.

She looked around calmly, taking in the grieving dragons and the riders. It was a scene unlike any other in her memory and it was one that she would never forget. The magic continued to gather around her until she glowed softly in the deepening twilight. She relaxed, it was all in the Goddess' hands now and it would be her will guiding her.

Eddie clapped her hands once and the sound was like a clap of thunder instantly silencing dragon and rider alike as they turned to the petite woman in surprise and not a little awe. She raised her hands high over her head and spoke in a voice that everyone could clearly hear.

"Mother Goddess, receive our dear friend, Spath. Let his spirit dwell in harmony and peace under your gentle protection. Guide him on his journey to the shining land and comfort his disquiet for leaving us. He was strong and in leaving us he gave us his strength to go on. Protect him and give him our love.

"Bless your children; human and dragon alike, lift up their spirits to lighten their sorrow. Help us through our grief and help us to celebrate Spath and his life. Blessed be dearest Spath. You shaped many lives just by your presence. We are saddened that you had to leave, but happy for you because now you stand before the great lady and can ask your questions."

Slowly she lowered her hands and bowed her head. She wasn't sure why she said those words, they weren't part of the standard prayers for the dead but she had felt almost like she was compelled to speak them.

"Blessed be," she whispered again, and then she swayed ominously. She felt exhausted as the magic that had gathered around her, bled away, leaving her feeling tired and drained.

Remus and Sirius jumped to their feet and helped her sit gently on the blanket. Dobby appeared and offered her a steaming mug of hot chocolate which she accepted gratefully.

The Weyr remained respectfully silent, watching the little druid priestess that they liked and respected. Something inexplicable had happened and no one was really sure exactly what. There had been no extraordinary magic except for that single hand clap and yet everyone knew they had just witnessed something very unusual. The pain and grief of Spath's passing seemed lessened by her words and everyone present was comforted and filled with hope.

"Eddie?" May said gently, then she sniffled and wiped at her tears using a handkerchief Harry had given her. "Eddie are you all right?"

Eddie lifted her head tiredly. "Just tired dear, I don't know what came over me. That wasn't the usual benediction for the dead, but I felt compelled to say that. My guides were telling me very clearly what must be done. It wasn't like a typical usual compulsion; all I felt was a great peace and love for Spath and for everyone here."

"This is what I meant about compelling evidence," muttered Karen Khan with a sniffle of her own.

Eddie shot the girl a tired smile.

"_I don't feel as sad now,"_ Chekiath announced into the silence. _"I will miss Spath, but Green Lady says he's moved to a nicer place. __Its comforting to know we just don't end. __I think I like that idea."_

"We all do mate," Harry said softly.

"Soranth would you please tell Lee to prepare a press statement about Spath and Dronth for tomorrow morning? Also pass the word that every manned Weyr will fly their flags at half mast for thirty days." Harry said softly. Whatever mood had infected the Weyr, had affected everyone. Everyone was talking softly as if unwilling to break the mood.

"_Lee says he'll handle it Weyrleader,"_ Soranth replied.

Both girls looked at him strangely and he shrugged. "We've taken a big loss tonight, but we still need to produce fourteen tons of hot rocks this week. Scales need to be delivered, Ronan has another manure shipment to Gringotts to make. As much as I would like to give everyone time off to mourn, we must continue going about our business."

Ronan groaned and closed his eyes. "Don't remind me," he moaned. Karen laughed and poked him in the side causing him to sit up and eye her warily. The goblins handled the resale of the manure to the growers for fertilizer. Twice a month Ronan would oversee the delivery of tons of manure that had been carefully loaded into cargo containers.

Normally elves would load the manure. Unless Harry needed to punish someone, then they were handed a shovel. They didn't have to load an entire container, but usually it felt like they had by the time their punishment hours were up.

The goblins would clean out the containers and have them ready for the dragons to pick up so that they could be reused. Twice a month, Campbeltown would send fifty loaded containers to Gringotts and Ronan saw to it that the operation ran smoothly. It was a job that he hoped to be able to pass off soon to someone else.

"In other words, life goes on," Remus said.

"Don't you want to talk about what happened tonight with Eddie?" asked Hermione.

Harry smiled and shook his head. "No I don't really. I think that each of us must figure that out and _have faith_ in our own opinions for a change."

Eddie chuckled softly at Harry's choice of words and Hermione huffed a little. She hated being confronted with a mystery that she couldn't resolve.

"What do you think happened?" May asked Harry intently.

He looked towards the enclosed stall through the open doors and his brow furrowed like he was concentrating hard. "Eddie says she was compelled to say what she did. But for what purpose? Her words offered only hope and a heartfelt prayer that Spath would find his peace in an afterlife. There was no attempt to sway us to a course of action, no attempt to convert riders and dragons. It was just a prayer and nothing more and yet I was comforted by it. All of us, dragon and rider were comforted by it and our grief was eased. As she spoke I felt like someone was listening keenly to her words. Whether it was the Goddess or Spath listening, I don't know. All I do know is that it was comforting and I am certain that Spath is happy and at peace.

"What we witnessed, I think, was a confirmation that Spath has gone on to a place where he's no longer in pain. I think we were told in a roundabout way that our dragons are loved by someone other than the riders and other people. I think that we each have to examine what happened and come to our own conclusions. Some things just aren't meant to be analyzed too deeply."

He said that looking at Hermione who blushed and looked away. She knew she had a tendency to over analyze things. It was a habit that May and Harry were both working on helping her, but it wouldn't go away overnight.

May leaned closer to Hermione and nudged her with her shoulder. Hermione looked up and returned May's smile. They weren't trying to hurt her, it was just something she did and she knew she needed to work on it.

Harry noted several people from Sir Robert's team waiting nearby with a large flatbed trailer truck with an attached crane. They would move Spath's body to a large refrigerated unit in the science complex before they transported the body to the group that would study him.

It answered the one question he had been afraid to ask. Spath had not gone Between at the last minute. In a way he was glad of that, Spath suffered terribly in fighting the urge to go Between. Had he gone Between in the last moment of his life that would have made his suffering all for naught. He would honor Spath and any dragon that managed to resist the urge because they were special among dragon-kind.

"Ronan, assemble the wings and riders. If Sir Robert's people are going to take him away, we'll stand for his sake, and honor his passing," Harry said, then he stood and squared his shoulders.

Ronan nodded and started shouting orders as a driver slowly backed up the large truck into the infirmary. The Weyr would honor their elder dragon who would help his kind even in death.

* * *

**Author's Notes and Mockeries:**

***** First off, a deep note of thanks for everyone that reviewed. The response was a bit overwhelming at points and gratifying.

***** Now then, some review responses and we'll lead off with a question to AussieFFaddict. What is Tim Tam? It sounds like something Alyx might want to use someday to torture people with.

***** L. Ravensky asks if the chapters will cover significant periods of time. The best answer I can give is that there will be time gaps that may skip a year or more. Life isn't one continuous crisis event, but more like a series of crisis' separated by periods of intense boredom. As things heat up and cool down we'll see a variable rate of time compression based on what's happening.

***** Ar Kaos wants to know if the Weyrs will involve themselves in humanitarian efforts that occur in the middle of a shooting war, ie Bosnia, or some places in Africa etc. To stop the wondering I'll say no. The Weyrs are neutral and will help in any endeavor that doesn't pose undue risk to a rider and dragon. The story is complex enough without bringing in that kind of plotline.

***** Team503 had a bunch of questions that I'm not going to answer. Silly reader, like I'm going to give away plot points? I will say that the topic of religion will pop up now and again. You saw a little of that in this chapter and it will appear from time to time, not as a major plot point, but one that stubbornly refuses to die. Religion is a touchy subject to write about because no matter how you portrait it, you offend someone, so I try not to let it become too important to my stories. Oh and to all those pygmy Buddhist cannibals I may have insulted, sorry about that.

***** There are no plans to market breakfast cows. Sorry!

***** Iphiglina next time you dance around naked, take photos. But seriously your English is better than some people I know that were born in England, plus they are always mispronouncing things. Hello, Aluminum anyone?

***** For all those that wanted to rent the bullet point but didn't want to participate in the movie, no worries. The movie deal fell through thanks to some carefully phrased insults towards the midget... er Tom Cruise. Now however we have another problem. What do to with 1200 people sized llama costumes.

***** To the unsigned reviewer that wanted to rent the bullet point, you almost had me when you offered naked photos, but then you ruined it when you said it was of your Mom in bed with a chimpanzee. Seriously is it any wonder why I delete unsigned reviews? And frankly folks if you're going to try to bribe me with smut, you better be prepared to offer up a sample or two. I don't want to agree to something only to discover I'd been bribed into receiving photos of Sister Rosetta Stone and Father Flannigan playing "Smock me again father, I have sinned!".

***** This Bullet Point is available for rent. See below for details.

***** LordAmnesia wants to sell wolverines cheap. For more information, contact LordAmnesia courtesy of the local trauma center.

***** The above bullet point was rented by LordAmnesia who regrettably, passed away before he could pay us. Cheap bastard! However, since he was offering to pay us in wolverines, I think we got off lucky. Besides, his family is allowing Alyx to practice her taxidermy skills on his body. He looks a little weird with his foot coming out of his ear and I won't mention what's coming out his butt, but hey, it makes Alyx happy.

***** If you haven't checked out some of our earlier stories, try them. Just remember some of them are old enough to have invented the cliches that people hate these days.


	3. Chapter 3

**Standard Disclaimer:**

"And folks if you call in within the next fifteen minutes, we'll include free complimentary llama shaped candy canes to go along with your Christmas Llama star," Alyx proclaimed happily.

Bob walked onto the stage and blinked in shock. Then he blinked again, hoping the sight would vanish, but alas, it didn't. Alyx had covered the stage in snow and she was dressed up as one of Santa's elves. There was a large palm tree that had a number of ornaments stapled to it, and under it was a little nativity scene where someone had replaced the sheep, cows and donkeys with llamas, manatees and a sloth named 'Pokey'.

The three wise men looked like the Blues Brothers and to top it off, a large neon sign blinked above the scene proclaiming the arrival of the very first Christmas.

Bob slowly face palmed then he looked at his wife. "What are you doing?" he shouted, "Can't you just for once write a simple disclaimer telling people we don't own Harry Potter or the Dragonriders of Pern?"

"I'm just following one of your ideas," Alyx replied smugly. "Remember when you wrote Multiverse? That story with billions of infinite universes?"

"Yeah," Bob replied guardedly. He didn't dare debate the concept of applying 'billion' and 'infinite' together made no sense.

Alyx grinned. "Well I had an idea for a new movie and I figured I would sell some of my own designed Llama Christmas tree stars to finance the movie!"

"But it's not Christmas!" exclaimed Bob.

Alyx chuckled. "That's the beauty of it. Somewhere out there it is Christmas. Christmas doesn't fall on the same day in every universe you know," she replied smugly. "In fact there are an infinite number of universes where _today is_ Christmas."

Bob sighed and massaged his pounding temples. Infinities always gave him a headache. "Do I want to know what this movie is about?" he whined.

Alyx perked up. "I'm glad you asked. It stars a deranged, mutated Snape!" she gushed.

Bob smiled brightly. "I think I like this movie already."

"Draco plays the handsome, far too young scientific hero that must travel around the world looking for a cure for Snape while Harry Potter plays an evil villain out to control Snape and wreak havoc on civilization. Meanwhile Snape escapes from his confinement and is attacking several cities. I call it Snapezilla attacks!"

Bob blanched. "Start the story! Start the story!" he shouted over Alyx's continuing description.

"Lord I would hate to see what her idea of crowd funding is all about," Bob muttered, then he turned and stalked off the stage.

* * *

**Beneath Sovereign Skies  
Chapter 3  
Dementors and River Stones**

**Hangar two, Campbeltown Weyr, August 5****th****, 1997...**

In the months since Spath's passing Dronth slipped into the role of Elder dragon with a fervor that Spath couldn't match. For all his age, Dronth was still more than 100 years younger than Spath. His ability as one of the few dream walkers made him a very effective teacher of the Weyrlings and gave Remus a detailed view of life in a Pern Weyr that even Spath would have trouble matching.

But not all of his Earthly memories were as good as the Pern memories. Dragons and Dementors had a long history thanks to Wizards. It came as a surprise to Remus and it was why Dronth was so eager to take part in the next major Weyr task.

Dronth had revealed memories of several Mediterranean countries making sport of forcing dragons and dementors into close contact in an enclosed arena several centuries ago. The sport had fallen out of favor in the mid eighteenth century, but the dragons in the Mediterranean nations remembered it well. Dronth came from a North African nation and he had vivid memories of the 'sport' from the few survivors.

These memories, along with information learned from the Battle of Balmoral Castle meant that world wide dragon-kind wanted these creatures destroyed.

Harry walked into the hangar and quickly climbed the short steps to the stage. Dronth moved to position himself next to Chekiath just to one side of the stage. Chekiath crooned a greeting to Dronth who crooned in reply then they both turned their attention to Harry on the stage.

With the hatching back in November and again in February the Weyr's ranks had swelled to two hundred and four riders. The increased population had resulted in Harry ordering the elves to gut Hangar two and restructure the interior again. The huge space inside had been reclaimed, gone were the classrooms for Magic, instead the space now had enough room to fit roughly twice their number and still had room left over for the dragons of the Wing leaders.

The Weyr theater couldn't fit everyone and by the end of the year they would be moving to shifts for meals until the Kitchen hall could be expanded. Many of the couples were taking to cooking some of their own meals in their quarters in order to avoid the noisy kitchen hall. The only meal the Weyr tried hard to share together was breakfast because Harry usually had announcements to make.

Construction had begun over the summer for Susan's design for an apartment block. It was a strange looking affair that seemed to resemble an out-door car park and storage units. The building had broad, reinforced balconies for dragons to land and take off from. The plans eventually called for five of these sixty apartment, buildings to be constructed, but right now they were just building the one.

Just four stories tall with six single bedroom and nine double bedroom apartments, per floor, each building would comfortably fit at least sixty single riders and with the appropriate space enlarging charms even larger families could be accommodated.

Every morning construction workers would arrive and enter via a secured gate where they would board mini-buses to ferry them to the work site. It added a little extra time to the construction but it allowed Major Atkins' people to keep a close eye on the workers. The construction company had extensive military construction experience and had no problem dealing with the security restrictions. And the Weyr's restrictions were minor compared to some of the work they did.

For now however the Weyr was seriously cramped and a few riders were living out of magical tents that they had bought with the help of Gringotts. The Weyr was starting to generate some serious money but even with that, construction still took time. Everyone knew it was temporary, the first apartment building would be finished in late January of 1998 but for now, people were seriously crunched and Harry was already worrying about the addition of new riders come November.

Harry stopped in the center of the stage and he looked down for a moment, passing an image to every dragon in the Weyr, then he turned and walked over to a white board and placed a large map against the board with a sticking charm.

He nodded to his guest and then looked at his riders, signaling them to settle down. "Good morning riders. My guest is Yoshi Musabe, official court wizard to the Japanese Imperial court and ICW delegate for Japan. Starting today we are going to be assisting Mr. Musabe and the dragons of Sakushima Weyr in eliminating the Japanese population of dementors. I am sure by now the wizards among you have explained about the extra classes they've had for the past month on casting the Patronus charm. So you probably knew that we'd be going up against dementors soon."

Harry paused and smiled. "What you don't know is that the Japanese government is willing to cede a large piece of Sakushima island to the Weyrs in payment as well as paying a bounty for each dementor we eliminate. They have even offered to help install the necessary physical security measures for a new Weyr. However unlike the Americans or the British they were reluctant to assign a military force to help secure the facility.

"It has taken us this long, but we now have permission to hire an armed security service company to provide security for Sakushima. Our new friends were reluctant to allow armed security for the new Weyr, but it will only be needed for a few years, until the new Weyr is capable of protecting itself."

Harry didn't need to point out to anyone that a dragon was capable of destroying just about any threat with it's fire. The Japanese government understood that fact but had opted to pretend otherwise. For Harry it provided a unique insight into the Japanese mindset.

He nodded to Ronan who in turn ordered his people to pass out folders containing information about what they would be doing.

Harry waited until everyone had a folder, then he pointed towards the map and a large lit circle appeared, centered on a single mountain. "In your folder is a map, please take it out to look at."

He paused and waited as everyone dug through their folder. In quick order everyone had a map in their hands and were looking at him with interest.

"In the Shari District of the Hokkaido Prefecture there is a penned in area which is heavily warded. Despite the wards, each year a few of the dementors manage to slip out to cause trouble among the local mundane population.

"Mount Unabetsu and the area some 20 miles around it are home to some one hundred to one hundred forty dementors. The Japanese never took an accurate census of the things, but then they never tried to use them as prison guards either. Unlike the British Ministry for Magic, our Japanese friends never attempted to use them in any capacity. Sometime around 1790, they invented a ward which the dementors didn't like and they herded them into an enclosed area around the mountain.

"The area is heavily wooded and that is going to be a problem," Harry said tensely. He gestured and the map expanded on the board until it had zoomed into what looked like a break in the forest. "This is the nearest large clearing that doesn't have people nearby and it's the only significant clearing in the warded zone. With the forest in the way, we have the problem of spotting dementors and getting to them."

Harry looked back to his riders and grinned. "The Japanese government has politely asked that we do not burn the forest down to get to the dementors," he said with a slight smirk, and then he paused while the riders chuckled.

Nearby Yoshi nodded fervently. This was an old sacred forest revered by mundane and magical equally and a forest fire would not be impeded by the dementor wards.

"What I propose is an effort that is going to see us very busy for the next week or two. The magical riders have been practicing their Patronus charms on their dragons for a reason. We are going to round up the dementors by herding them towards that clearing.

"It may take multiple sweeps to get them all. Sakushima will locate the dementors and we'll herd them towards the clearing where the non-magical riders will be waiting to snatch them up and take them between.

"A dragon that is being used as a Patronus focus creates a shielded area, sort of an anti-dementor zone. We'll slowly sweep the treetops and herd any dementors located by pushing at them with this Patronus zone. It may take a bit at first, but I'm confident we'll soon work out how to herd the dementors into the direction we want them to go."

Harry turned back to the map and explained his plan in greater detail for dealing with the dementors. He pointed out where they would be staying. There was a children's summer camp near the edge of the warded area that had been closed years earlier because of a dementor breakout. The buildings had been recently renovated and there was adequate room for the Sakushima and Campbeltown dragons as well as space and facilities for the riders.

As Harry spoke it became clear that the Weyr would be earning a tidy sum of money for eliminating the dementors and already had agreed with the Japanese to reinvest most of that into turning Sakushima into a full Weyr. Sakushima Weyr would be the first Weyr that was built using money earned by the dragons instead of donated by a host government.

That also meant that Luna and her team would begin searching for potential candidates once the dementors were dealt with.

Harry paused again and turned back to his audience. He slid his hands into his pockets and looked at them carefully, trying to gage their reaction. "That's the plan people. We'll spend the next two weeks trying to herd the dementors into position. Mr. Musabe assures me that they will have several members of the Japanese Aurors on site to help with the local authorities and we'll have someone to help us with simple stuff like shopping. They will also provide each of us an enchanted object that will provide translations for Japanese. The objects will have the added benefit of making any mundanes hear us in Japanese."

Harry glanced around and then he spotted Arnas Roberts, the Weyr meteorologist. "Arnas, what kind of weather can we expect in this area?"

Arnas stood and shuffled his feet nervously. Normally his job consisted of posting local weather reports in the Kitchen hall as well as looking up weather conditions around the world for the Wing Leaders. Today was the first time he would be addressing the entire Weyr.

Arnas coughed nervously and glanced at a clip board in his hand. "There is no significant weather over the target area at the moment. A seven day forecast shows little change, but I'll continue to monitor the situation. Feymieth and I will jump back to Campbeltown daily to check the forecasts.

"The terrain does lend itself to typical mountain weather. That means we can expect morning fogs and or a light drizzle that will burn off by mid morning. Despite the date, it is probable that we'll see cool evenings requiring heavier clothing. Afternoons however can be quite warm. I don't anticipate any significant weather to impact flight operations," he said, then he sat down in his chair and looked about nervously.

Harry smiled at Arnas and nodded his thanks. He glanced at his watch. "Your dragons have the jump imagery; we'll assemble on the flight line tomorrow at zero four hundred hours. That will have us arriving around noon in Japan. Make sure you pack some warm clothing. Wing Leaders, we'll have a meeting tomorrow evening after everyone gets settled in at the base camp. So for now you're dismissed, go pack, or tell Major Atkins if you need a run into town for any personal needs. She'll arrange for the motor-coach to make a town shopping run."

The riders stood and slowly started to disperse. Each of them had things to attend to before tomorrow. The riders rarely took their dragons into town because of the excitement that they generated and the fact that the dragons couldn't enter the stores. None of the riders expected that to ever change, but it made them uncomfortable to leave their dragon sitting in some parking lot while their rider shopped.

"Oh!" called Harry with a grin. "Don't forget your passports!"

Laughing the riders made their way to the exits. Each rider carried an official British passport for themselves and a Campbeltown Weyr issued passport for their dragons. Unfortunately as far as Harry was concerned, no one had asked to see their passports since their trip to the United Nations in New York. He wanted to issue passports to the riders as well, but first he needed just one country to acknowledge the Campbeltown passports. With that precedent set, issuing passports to the riders would be easy.

Harry turned to Yoshi and grinned. "That went well actually. A lot of the riders from the later impressions haven't experienced dementors but they are taking it very seriously. Only the first and second impression riders have any experience with them and they are understandably nervous."

Yoshi moved closer to him on the stage, behind him Harry could spot May, Hermione and Ronan climbing the short stairs to join them. "And the dragons?" asked Yoshi.

Harry's expression hardened. "They want them dead," he said flatly. "You know about the racial memories of dragons correct?"

Yoshi nodded.

"Dronth, our elder dragon and our Weyr historian got to talking one day and we quickly realized that dragons had faced dementors in the past on more than a few occasions. During the time of the beasts they had been forced to face them as a kind of sport by some magical communities. Without their intellect, the dragons had little control over their fire and almost none over their flying abilities. The dementors didn't always win, so the dragons remember being forced to face them; they are willing to do anything to rid the world of their menace," Harry said harshly.

"They even give dragons nightmares," Ronan added quietly.

Yoshi raised one eyebrow, he was surprised to see how serious the riders were taking this task. The press portrayed the riders as being some kind of daring adventurers but Yoshi was discovering that was far from the truth. He had witnessed some of the training the magical riders had undergone and came away impressed. The Weyr was deadly serious about eliminating the dementors and deadly serious in performing their duty to the Weyr and dragon-kind. "Well then perhaps someday we will be able to declare such creatures a thing of the past."

"Now that is something I'll drink to," May said fervently. The few times she had been close to dementors they bothered her deeply. That was before she had gotten together with Harry and she told Hermione that she'd end up needing some serious Harry cuddling if she had a repeat of her first encounter. Hermione smiled and told her that it was likely they all would need some serious reassurance if they got too close.

May and Hagrid were to set up a small medical clinic in case of dragon injury, so unless the dementors attacked the base camp, the odds were slim that she'd see one up close on this trip.

Harry smiled; the thought of ridding the world of dementors was a good one, especially if he could get countries to pony up cash for the effort. He wasn't interested in putting a Weyr in every country but he wasn't adverse to earning the dragons some welcome currency that wasn't attached to hot rocks.

As it stood the Weyr had three primary sources of wizarding galleons. The first source came from the work done by Polenth's clan of underground dragons and Harry kept seventy five percent of that in trust for Polenth and his clan in case they ever needed it. The second source was from the sale of scales and custom built Jordan wands and finally they made galleons from selling dragon dung.

Hot Rocks were expected to become the Weyr's principle source of income once the power plants started going on-line. Right now the Weyr only produced hot rocks for testing and research only.

They were earning fifty million British pounds for this job, most of which would be sunk right back into the Japanese economy to pay for the construction of Sakushima Weyr. But there were plenty of other countries in the world with dementor problems. If Harry had his way, this Japanese job would set the precedent and the price tag for all future dementor hunts.

Harry wanted the dragons to earn their place in the world. So if he could finance a new manned Weyr by eliminating dementors, he would.

Both Maziang and Condron were absent from this particular exercise but he had plans to include them in future dementor hunts. And he was certain that once word got out about Japan getting rid of the problem, other magical ministries would be screaming for similar services.

"Mr. Musabe, I wanted to thank you for all your help. I know how time consuming this has been, and that it's taken away from your time dealing with the Mediterranean crisis," Harry said.

Yoshi smiled and shook his head. "Please, Weyrleader, among mages there are only given names, it is just Yoshi."

Harry smiled. "Then you must call me Harry."

The old mage returned his smile and bowed slightly. "As to the issue between Italy and Greece, they settled down once we interdicted the zone between them. Now the only war they can fight is one of words across a bargaining table. The cease fire has been in place for four months and the two sides are talking a bit. There's still a great deal of hostility, but they cannot do any more than shout insults at each other across the bargaining table.

"On the other hand the embargo is hurting them and there are rumblings of opposition parties to the people in power trying to force the governments to make a binding peace. I fear we might have to wait for the governments to fall, but I know we will conclude this successfully, like Albus wanted."

Harry nodded and swallowed down the lump in his throat. The mention of Albus caught him off guard and threatened with a tear or two. The death of Dumbledore had hit the Weyr hard, and despite Harry's open declaration that he wasn't affected, he was. The loss deeply bothered him and confused him. There was still a lot of room for anger against Dumbledore, but most of that vanished when he became the dragon's advocate.

"Yes he would have wanted that," Harry murmured. He could feel a pair of hands touch his back and he didn't need to look up to know his wives were nearby, supporting him. They weren't officially married or even engaged, but he couldn't help but consider that a done deal at this point. They knew him better than anyone other than Chekiath. And they knew how deeply Dumbledore's loss meant to Harry, and perhaps even understood it better than Harry did.

Yoshi gestured towards the now mostly empty hangar. "Your people are preparing to fight an evil that we have struggled against for centuries. If anything Harry-san, we are deep in debt to you and your riders and dragons. It took us a hundred years to perfect a ward to contain those demons, and even after another fifty years of research we cannot make it fool proof. You will give us the protection we have needed for so long."

Harry grimaced slightly and he gestured to the map still on the white board. "We will try Yoshi, but the forest poses considerable difficulties. Since we can't burn it down, some may escape."

Yoshi nodded grimly, he had come to that same conclusion when the muggles asked that the forest be preserved if possible. "Nothing in life is certain Harry-san. We do our best and hope it is good enough. We have a rough idea of how many dementors there are, so we will continue until we attain that. If some are left behind they would still be trapped behind the wards. I have made both governments aware that the restrictions imposed could result in a small number of dementors escaping elimination."

"But as you've pointed out the wards aren't perfect," Hermione protested.

Yoshi made a shrugging motion with his shoulders. "It is the best we can do, and if we can kill one hundred of the beasts we may have pushed them too far to recover from. We know they reproduce, but no one knows how or what triggers their mating. No one has studied it before. What we do know for certain is that they reproduce only very infrequently or their population would have grown significantly since we penned them in. Killing off one hundred from such a small population to start with may result in the beasts being unable to recover their losses."

Harry squared his shoulders. "We'll do our best. The dragons hate dementors and there isn't an ounce of sympathy for them among the riders," he said, and then he turned to Hermione. "Has Lee made the press statement yet?"

Hermione shook her head. "He had Mariah make the statement. He asked me to tell you that he's not very comfortable in front of the cameras and Mariah is more than capable of acting as the official spokesperson."

Harry nodded thoughtfully, considering his own reaction to speaking on camera he couldn't really blame Lee. Despite Lee's misgivings, Harry had wanted him to be the official spokesman for the Weyr and not Mariah. Lee was still in charge of the Weyr Press office and Mariah be the public face of the Weyr. _She is very attractive and well spoken, she'll do a good job and I know she gets along __well __with Lee,_ he mused for a moment then he decided to stop pressing Lee about it.

"_Harry, everyone gets along with Lee,"_ Chekiath said in reply to his musings. _"__But Mariah likes Lee very much and enjoys it when he covers her."_

Harry chuckled and the others looked at him strangely. He tapped his temple, "Comments from the peanut gallery about Lee and Mariah. Very well, we'll let Mariah be our public spokesperson for now while Lee runs the office. So she released the announcement today?"

Hermione nodded with a smile, all of the riders were used to their dragons listening in on their inner monologue and occasionally dropping a comment or two. "Yes, officially tomorrow the Riders will be visiting Japan as part of an effort to pave the way for the establishment of a new manned Weyr."

"Don't forget we have an invitation to the Imperial Palace," May added excitedly.

Harry smiled at her. May loved gardens, either working in her own or visiting other gardens and she was excited by the idea of seeing some of the best Japanese gardens in the world. Meeting the Emperor of Japan was okay, but seeing the Imperial garden was the real bonus for her. Books had been written about those gardens and she owned several of them. Harry was certain she would leave there with plans for sprucing up the Weyr.

The backyard of their home had the makings of a fine garden that she spent the whole summer working on and getting Harry's help with. There was a small path and a tiny fountain with a stone bench nearby. They had one of the largest backyards in the Weyr and it was still tiny. May wanted to put together a garden that was big enough to allow a dragon to enjoy it. Unfortunately for May she was still trying to convince Trath that a garden shouldn't contain a small herd pen in case the dragon wanted a snack while sniffing the flowers.

"His Imperial majesty is most eager to meet with the dragons. However he did not want to appear as if he was taking all of their time so he's invited the palace staff and members of the court with their children to be present also. Many of the staff have children that attend the same school," Yoshi said softly. "His majesty wishes to meet privately for a short while, then the children and families will be presented to the dragons."

Harry's smiled broadened. "The dragons love children," he replied. "They know that meeting the Emperor is the real purpose of the meeting, but to them, the highlight of the visit will be the children."

"_As you said yourself Harry, children still believe in magic. To the rest of the world we're not magical, but our very existence gives them a little hope that there may be magic somewhere,"_ Chekiath announced to everyone.

Harry looked to where the huge hangar doors stood open and he could see his dragon waiting for him. "I know mate."

Yoshi looked troubled. "Do you really think that people should believe that Harry?"

Harry reached out and put an arm around May. She smiled and leaned into him. "Yoshi, the biggest crime the wizards did was take away magic from the world. Oh I know it was necessary at the time, but I like to think that the majority of the world has grown past the point of witch hunts and burning people at the stake. Even a hint of magic gives people hope. We took a world of wonder and beauty and selfishly hid it away from the world. In a way we made the world a colder, harder and harsher place to live."

"My Mum went with us to visit Hogwarts last month, she's a normal person who got to see her very first unicorn," Hermione said softly. "She broke down and cried because it was so beautiful."

Harry smiled at Hermione's remembrance. Emma's reaction was pretty standard; many of the normal riders had similar reactions to seeing a unicorn. Harry had even commissioned a goblin made charm bracelet for Emma's birthday with the first charm being a unicorn.

"Sir William is tasked with starting the process of revealing magic to the British public. Arthur Weasley is busy putting together a plan to do just that," Harry added, "The original plan wasn't going to work and Albus had written down some ideas of how to fix it. Arthur found Albus' notes and turned it into a real plan. I think Arthur's plan has a good chance of success but he hasn't started it yet because he needs to sell the idea to the ICW and get their support. The Minister of Magic is looking at a plan that takes almost fifty years to complete. I would strongly suggest you talk to Arthur Weasley about it."

Yoshi looked at Harry, he was appalled at what he was hearing.

Harry saw the reaction and he quickly conjured some chairs and motioned for Yoshi to sit down. The others took seats and Harry waited for a moment trying to order his thoughts. "I'm going to say something and I may get this wrong, so May, Ronan, if I'm wrong, please jump in."

The others nodded and sat, waiting for him to continue.

"This is a tale that Jasper Brady told me and I think it highlights the problem like never before," Harry added.

"Ah the American that used to be ICW Delegate?" Yoshi asked cautiously.

Harry nodded. "That's right, he now works at the American Weyr as the government liaison. He was telling me about a problem that had first come to light a few years ago. You know what a satellite is?"

Yoshi nodded a bit uncertainly and Harry looked at Ronan. Ronan leaned forward in his chair. "A satellite is a machine that is sent into Earth orbit via rocket. It is so high above the ground that it is outside of our atmosphere."

Ronan paused and pulled out a bulky phone from a pocket with a short antenna. "This phone allows me to call anywhere on the planet. Once my call enters the network it is quite likely that it will be sent via a satellite to its destination. Satellites are used for all sorts of things these days, this is just one example."

Yoshi nodded, he was a bit confused as to where this was going.

"The normals have been putting up satellites for the last forty years or more. Some are used like Ronan said, for communication and others do things like monitor the weather. Some governments use them to spy on their neighbors and potential enemies by taking very precise photographs. According to Jasper Brady one department of the American government, the National Reconnaissance Office, was charged with making the most accurate maps in the world. Shortly after they began they started noticing holes in their maps, places where they could see towns and streets but no official addresses existed for those locations.

"Places like the Salem enclave or the great Rocky Mountain reserve were detected by these machines. Technology had given the normals the ability to find us and every day their technology improved until they were finding individual homes that were hidden among their cities," Harry said, then he waved a hand towards the map where the dementors were kept penned in. "Sir, you know the problem, the normals every day move closer to a source of danger that they can't even see. Everyday increases the chance of the magical world being discovered. And everyday increases the chance of that discovery leading to a conflict between the two worlds."

"Hiding was right when wizards first did it, but the world's changed," Hermione added. "Soon it won't be possible to hide and someday an unfriendly government will learn of your existence. Wouldn't it be better to try to gently bring the two worlds together? If wizards can control how the secret is revealed, then perhaps they will have allies among the normals to help if some government decides to reinstate the witch hunts."

Hermione was strongly in favor of Arthur's plan and she hoped that the Weyr would be asked to help with it at some point. She knew there was good chance that any children from her and Harry would likely be magical.

Harry glanced at her and nodded approvingly. "Exactly. It's time to gently ease the two worlds together. If the wizarding world were to follow a plan like the one Arthur Weasley has, then by the time the normals know about magic, it will be routine to them. A source of envy perhaps, but not a source of conflict. And if a country, like Italy for example decided to oppress their wizards, the rest of the world would react in outrage."

Yoshi glanced up at the map and grunted sourly. Hokkaido was a heavily populated prefecture, what Harry proposed _could_ happen. The area where the dementors were kept was warded against muggles, but no ward was perfect and the forest was a popular tourist location. The separation between the two worlds was rapidly shrinking and sooner or later they would collide. What the Weyrleader proposed was to control that collision in an attempt reduce the impact on both societies.

He stood abruptly. "You present an interesting and alarming case Harry-san. I think it would be best if I spoke with Arthur Weasley and get a better feel for the issues. I can see why you think it is necessary although I am not sure I agree with it yet."

Harry nodded. "Just give it some consideration Yoshi. The Weyr isn't pushing for this, but we do recognize this as a big problem facing the wizarding world. If asked, the Weyr will support and help the effort to bring the two worlds together peacefully. If the two worlds came to blows I do not know what I would do, but I also do not wish to be forced into making that choice."

Harry didn't need to mention that the bulk of his riders were non-magical and he would most likely side with the non-magical side.

**Camp Orange Blossom, August 6****th**** 1997...**

Harry looked up and saw Ronan approaching. He held up a hand to Hermione and she fell silent, then he turned to Ronan. "Well?"

Ronan grimaced. "The place hasn't been well maintained like we were told. It looks like some of the buildings were repaired several years ago but since then there's been a lot vandalism. Between the elves and our wizards I think we can fix it up. We will still need the Japanese to bring in basic supplies, the kitchen is a wreck and even if the elves can fix it, there's no food here like we were promised."

Harry nodded unhappily. The camp they were expected to use during their dementor hunt was in terrible shape. Many of the barrack-like buildings had broken windows and the interiors were a wreck. There were no beds or food and less than half of the buildings had working power.

A few feet away Yoshi stood with a thunderous expression on his face. He didn't know who was responsible, but he had been assured the camp was in decent shape and now he had been made to look like a fool!

Harry nodded, and then his eyes glazed over for a moment as he called for a Wing command meeting. He needed to speak with his wing leaders and seconds, and get organized. Satisfied that the leaders were on their way, he wandlessly levitated a table from nearby and turned it right-side up before placing it in front of him. A quick scouring charm made it usable for his needs. He placed a briefcase on the table and opened it.

"Yoshi?" he called. He could clearly see the old man shaking with anger.

The aging mage shook from his introspection and turned his attention to Harry. He had ridden on Chekiath with Harry to this location just over an hour ago and had been shocked into silence by the poor condition of the place. He had made promises based on reports he had received and now it was clear someone wasn't giving him accurate information.

"Weyrleader, I fear I must apologize," he said, then he trailed off as Harry cut him off.

"Yoshi, no apologies are necessary. You thought the camp was ready for our use. Someone told you it was ready and you had no reason to disbelieve them. The camp is a mess but we'll soon have it set to rights. In the meantime if you would contact your people. We're probably going to need the mundane liaison to purchase some supplies for us. Blankets, bedding, food and cookware for the kitchen hall, someone to fix the power problems, we'll also need someone that can translate until your ministry can provide the translation items."

Yoshi nodded. "I am told that someone will be here tomorrow from my ministry with specially enchanted earrings that will provide the translation function. I will also find out who was responsible for this... this unacceptable mess."

Harry bowed slightly. "We know we can rely on you Yoshi. I am certain this was all an innocent misunderstanding, but together we can fix things."

Yoshi cocked an eyebrow at Harry, and then he returned the bow. It was obvious that Harry had been studying Japanese culture and customs. His comments attributed blame on no one and made it plain that this was just an accident that he was willing to forget. Yoshi appreciated the gesture, but he still felt this was a slight on his honor. He promised himself he would get to the bottom of this and find out who had dropped the ball.

Harry turned away to greet the others entering the room. There were now ten wings representing two hundred and four riders.

Ronan was pushing for a reorganization of the Wings along divisional lines of five wings to a division, but so far they were still coping. Harry was reluctant to reorganize because it would leave holes in the wing structures as people moved into new positions. He wanted to wait until they had trained up replacements before reorganizing.

"As most of you have noticed, Camp Orange Blossom needs a little work," he said dryly. His wing leaders chuckled and he smiled in return. "We need to put this place in order and even if I called all our house elves from Campbeltown we'd be still working on the place well past midnight. So all magical riders will turn out for a systematic, building by building repair and cleaning party. The normal riders will follow behind setting up makeshift bedding that I'll have our elves deliver.

"Tinny and a party of elves will concentrate on the kitchen. Hopefully they'll be able to repair the kitchens or we may end up doing a lot of take away food," he said with a smile.

The riders laughed at that, between the riders and some others from the Weyr, they had two hundred and fourteen people that would need to be fed. They would easily overwhelm any restaurant they used to feed their people.

"Harry, isn't that unfair to make the wizards do all the work?" asked Brian Thornhope, Wing leader of Wing Eight.

Harry chuckled and looked at Hermione. "Would you care to demonstrate?" he asked.

Hermione nodded and pulled out her wand. She turned to one corner where two windows had been broken. The floor underneath the windows was littered with leaves and random junk blown in by the wind. "Reparo!" she snapped at one window. Glass fragments flew up from the floor and in just a few seconds the window was whole and looked freshly cleaned. Hermione didn't wait; while the first window was being repaired she cast the spell again, repairing the second window. In under a half a minute both windows looked brand new.

"Scourgify!"

The debris on the floor vanished and the area, including the walls around with windows looked freshly scrubbed.

"Those are standard cleaning and repairing spells that all of our wizards know," Harry said. "Even the weakest among us can easily handle casting these spells multiple times. If I wanted, I could have told Hermione what color and she could easily change the colors of the room while cleaning it."

Hermione smiled and expertly twirled her wand, then deftly slipped it back into her holster. Hermione's wand twirling was a direct result of May who managed to convince her that it was perfectly acceptable to be proud of her abilities. She had practiced twirling her wand for years in secret and it was only with the urging of May that others now saw this side of Hermione.

Harry chuckled and waved a hand at the rest of the building interior. "Three or four wizards can repair and clean the interior of a building in a few minutes."

"Then why do you insist that we don't use magic when cleaning up Campbeltown?" asked Nancy Feltip, wing leader for wing seven and a witch.

Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Nancy there are over two hundred of us and only forty six magical riders. If I allowed you to use your magic to do chores around Campbeltown you'd end up making the normal riders resentful because you can complete a job with only a tenth of the effort. What you do in your own quarters and how you clean them is your business, but sweeping the walkways or planting grass and mowing those lawns in front of the Weyr buildings has to be done the same way by everyone."

Nancy looked surprised, then she slowly nodded in understanding. It was a leadership issue that Harry was teaching her.

"Alright I'll buy that, but why change now?"

Harry smirked. "I don't know about you Nancy, but I would prefer to eat and sleep in a clean, repaired building. In this case we'll be thankful that our magical riders can fix everything in short order. Doing it the normal way could take a week or more. Sometimes you need to bend a rule to avoid inconveniencing everyone. Unless you like sweeping and scrubbing floors by hand?"

Nancy shook her head to the chuckles of the others.

"You have your orders, let's get cracking," Harry said. The Wing leaders and seconds filed from the room leaving Harry, Dan and Emma and Yoshi standing in what would have been the eating area of the kitchen hall.

"You handled that really well Harry," Dan said quietly.

"I agree. I know we spoke of this before, but I did not realize the extent that you must go to prevent your abilities from breeding resentment," Yoshi said softly.

"My riders are allowed to use their abilities as they wish when they are not performing Weyr duties. But we all have to do things the same way. For the wizards it means they come to learn to respect the normal riders and how they must live their lives. The normal riders appreciate the effort and appreciate the magic that their friends can do to help them all."

Emma nodded knowingly; she had helped organize the witches so someone would be available after every meal to cast the anti-cramping spell on the normal female riders. It was a service that most of the boys didn't know about and the reason why the witches were universally liked by all of the normal girls. As a whole, the witches were appalled by the fact that there was little relief to be had for their normal counterparts and they were eager to help their sister riders.

Harry pulled his wand from its holster and Yoshi's eyebrows rose. This was the first time he saw one of the glowing Jordan wands. Hermione's wand had the same glow, but it was more muted than his was. He waved his wand and all of the remaining windows pieced themselves together and the doors that were barely hanging on straightened and reattached themselves.

A second spell had the entire large dining area spotless and looking like it had been freshly painted.

"Oh Harry, I want you around next time we do spring cleaning," Emma murmured.

Harry grinned broadly, then he turned his attention back to the map he had laid out on the table. "Now that this room is taken care of we can get back to business," he murmured.

"Bonth?" he called.

"_Yes Weyrleader?"_

"Send out your wings and let's see if we can get an idea of what we're dealing with," Harry ordered. "Have them bespeak to Chekiath or Dronth if they locate any pockets of dementors. Remember, this is an exploration trip only, not an attack. I don't want you to fight any dementors."

"_At once Weyrleader,"_ replied the senior dragon of Sakushima Weyr.

Yoshi stepped closer and glanced upwards when he heard the sound of many dragon wings. "You are starting already?"

Harry pointed to the map. "No point in sitting idle. Sakushima can scout out the area and give us an idea of where the dementors are while we fix up the camp. They will pass the imagery to Soranth and Chekiath. Lee is adept at picking a location out of his dragon's mind and locating it on a map," Harry replied, then he dropped his voice. "Also it will give the dragons of Sakushima a sense of participating. They will be helping to turn their Weyr into a true manned Weyr. Dragons are truly no different than people in that they like to feel needed and that they can contribute to a cause."

Yoshi nodded. "A sound plan Harry-san. The dragons help build a home for themselves and you end up with a leg up on finding the dementors."

A pop announced the arrival of Tinny and a crew of ten elves. Harry smiled at the elves who looked around warily until they spotted Harry, then they relaxed. The elves had come to trust the riders and in particular, Harry, but they were still wary when entering an unknown situation like Camp Orange Blossom.

"Tinny, I hope you and your crew are up to some hard work, we have a mess in the kitchen and the stoves need to be cleaned and repaired before any meals can be made," Harry said. Harry had looked in on the kitchen earlier and it was a total wreck. The kitchen was a disaster. It seemed that the vandals had payed close attention to the room and it's machinery.

Tinny nodded and he walked over to the swinging double doors that led into the kitchen. As the elves entered the kitchen they became a blur as they went to work.

Harry turned back to the map on the table and thought about what should be done next.

"Harry-san, with your permission I will depart for a while. There are people I must meet with and arrangements to make," Yoshi said.

Harry nodded. "Thank you Yoshi, your help has been invaluable and I'm certain it will continue to remain so. The Weyr is honored to have your help."

Yoshi bowed and smiled thinly, then he vanished with a very soft popping sound. Emma shook her head at the sight and looked at Harry. "When will you and Hermione learn to do that?"

Harry frowned. "Before the end of the year I think. Remus has brought it up several times now, but there hasn't been time."

Harry took a moment to sit and rest for a moment. As he sat, he examined the map on the table and considered the problems facing the Weyr in finding the dementors. The thick forest was going to make spotting dementors and herding them to the one large clearing difficult.

"How are you holding up?" asked Emma gently.

He looked up startled; he had forgotten they were there! "I'm fine, I guess I'm just a bit shocked at how badly run down this place is. It suggests that the muggle and magical ministries don't talk to each other very well."

"You're handling things well though, my first inclination after seeing this place was to go home," Dan replied. "Instead you accepted the mess and put people to work fixing it. The camp will be in working order in no time."

Emma moved a little closer to Harry. "Harry dear," she said hesitantly. Harry immediately perked up, Emma never called him that before and he wasn't sure what it meant. "No one was happier than I was when you and Hermione managed to solve your differences. Even Dan eventually understood there were factors involved that were outside anyone's influences."

Dan nodded solemnly. He approved of Harry for Hermione but their three way relationship bothered him still. He didn't make a stink about it, but Emma knew he was resigned to it at this point. Emma privately wondered if part of Dan's problem was a touch of envy.

Dan didn't really understand what was involved. What Harry, Hermione and May had was totally unlike anything he knew about. All Dan really saw was one man with two beautiful young women, one of which happened to be his daughter.

Dan had come to accept what was happening, but still really didn't understand what was going on behind the scenes. Emma knew more than he did, and had to deal with both girls who tearfully confessed to snapping at Harry for no real reason except that it was that time of the month. Magic might help with the physical cramping of their periods, but it did little to help with the occasional mood swing.

Harry bore their treatment stoically until Emma put her foot down and made the two girls explain their behavior to him.

"There is one issue we've wanted to bring up, but were reluctant to mention. I know that you have spoken to Hermione and May about some kind of handfasting ceremony, but at some point Hermione's family is going to want to see her settled down properly."

Dan sighed and wiped at his face. Sometimes Emma could be so obtuse even he had trouble understanding her and the look on Harry's face said he hadn't a clue what she was talking about. "Harry," he said, jumping in. "Em is talking about a marriage service at some point."

Harry blinked and stared at Dan for a moment before looking at Emma who nodded also. "You know I would marry them both if I could, but it's not legal," he replied softly.

"We know," Dan admitted. "And Hermione told us just how unhappy it made you when you were certain it wasn't legal. We understand the legal issues, but at some point Hermione's grandparents on my side are going to want to see their only granddaughter get married."

Harry leaned forward on his seat and rubbed at his temples tiredly. "And I suppose being at the handfasting service won't be good enough?"

"I wish it would," Emma replied. "Dan has a large family with several brothers and sisters. Trying to explain your three way relationship would probably ignite a small war."

Dan placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and gave him a gentle squeeze. "Nothing need happen immediately, but we need to figure out a solution for this. I know you were planning to hold the handfasting several years from now and I'm fine with that time frame. I... We wanted you to know about this so we all could plan for it."

Harry nodded and looked up at Dan. "Thank you. And while I'm at it thank you for being so accepting. I can't imagine how hard it been for you."

Dan smiled wryly. "You have no idea. But someday when you have girls of your own, I hope you find out."

"Dan," Emma warned with a small smile, and then she turned to Harry. "You make her happy. That's all that matters to us. You treat her and May very well, neither Dan nor I can complain about that. Hermione has explained to me about some of the difficulties you three have had to deal with. I think everyone has been amazed at how mature all three of you approached this."

"Six," Harry said softly. "That has been the problem from the start. Everyone sees me and two beautiful girls and immediately think this is some kind of wild sex thing. It's not. It's six people, three of whom happen to be dragons."

Harry tapped his forehead. "There is no privacy from our dragons. I can't shut Cheki out, nor would I want to. But that also means that I can feel what he feels and he can feel what I feel. The girls are in the same situation with their bond and it's always there, reinforcing what we normally feel. It's becoming more pronounced because of the dragon bond. Through the bond we can feel each others emotions, I can't speak for May or Hermione but I am keenly aware of their feelings and know instantly if I do something that makes them unhappy."

He stood and stretched a little. "I will talk to Hermione about this. We'll figure out how to handle this I'm certain. But now I better go help with the repairs."

He started to walk, but Emma stopped him by pulling him into a light hug. "Thank you for listening. Hermione and May are very lucky girls and I don't know if it helps, but if you were my son I would be very proud of you," she said.

He smiled at her and she released him. After he walked out of the building Dan turned to Emma. "I hated laying that on him. He's got so much to worry about as it is."

Emma walked over to Dan and wrapped her arms around him. "Harry will be fine. He has two very smart women to help him."

Later that evening, Harry lay cuddled in an enlarged sleeping bag with May and Hermione. A cushioning charm hid the fact that they were lying on a hard wood floor. All three were tired from the day's efforts. Harry had joined the others, repairing the parts of the camp where the repairs were too big for a regular magic user to handle.

He had briefly considered returning to Campbeltown, but then he remembered the time difference. They would be arriving back in Scotland to sleep and it would be daytime there.

"You're awful quiet tonight Harry, what's wrong?" asked May.

Harry smiled in the darkness and gently caressed her hair as she cuddled into his shoulder. This was their bond at work. They were becoming aware of his emotions as much as he was becoming aware of theirs. It was subtle and often hard to interpret, but it was there. "I was just thinking about something Hermione's parents said to me today."

Hermione instantly tensed against him and he reached with his other hand to caress her as well. "Oh?" she asked warily.

He smiled in the darkness, with both girls cuddling against him like this he often found himself embarrassed by his body's reaction. Both girls were aware of what his reaction often was and had worked out their own ways of solving it.

"Tomorrow morning," Hermione whispered in his ear and then she gave him a brief caress before moving back again. He sucked in a breath and nodded. It took him a moment to recenter himself, and then he continued with the conversation. Tomorrow morning he would have company in the shower. Hermione seemed to really enjoy the bath/shower and it was her way of helping him deal with 'issues'. Naturally he did all he could to help her in return.

"Your Mum and Dad told me that at some point your family is going to want to see you get married. And the more I think on it, the same probably holds true for May's family as well. It wouldn't be a problem if it was just the parents, they know what kind of relationship we have and will be present at our handfasting. But..."

"It's not just our parents," Hermione said with a dawning realization of the can of worms being opened. "My dad's parents are still alive and there are two aunts and another uncle, all with kids of their own."

"We have time, no one expects this right away, but we're going to have to come up with a solution that makes the families happy without getting me arrested," Harry said.

"My family is small, but both of sets of grandparents are still alive," May murmured. "We have time right?"

Harry smiled in the darkness. "Yes we have years still. Even if I replace your promise rings with an engagement ring at eighteen, I want to wait until we're at least twenty before asking Eddie to perform her service."

May lifted her head off his shoulder and peered at him in the darkness. "I'd do it tomorrow if we could, but that wouldn't solve this problem."

Harry pulled her gently forward until he could kiss her forehead, then he did the same to Hermione. "I would also, but I look at the handfasting as the last step before starting our own family."

"You look what?" exclaimed Hermione.

Harry chuckled. "I didn't say that was when we'd start sweetheart. All it is is the point where we feel we're adult enough to handle that kind of responsibility. I'm hoping by that point the Weyr will be running smoothly and most of our problems will have been solved by then."

May poked him in the ribs and he jerked slightly. "Hey!"

"Problems solved?" she said with a throaty chuckle. "Adding children introduces a whole host of new problems Harry. But I understand what you're saying. I would be happy to give you a couple of girls a few years after our handfasting."

"Girls? Sure of yourself aren't you?" Harry said with a laugh.

"The father is the one who decides the sex of the child," Hermione reminded them both.

"As long as the children are healthy and my wives are healthy I don't care what they are," Harry said fervently.

"_Will we have to adjust Disko for human hatchings Harry? The sands might be too hot,"_ Chekiath suddenly asked.

Outside Harry's quarters Ronan paused when he suddenly heard the sound of three people laughing. He smiled and shook his head. "Lucky bastard," he muttered, and then he continued on to where his dragon waited. This close to the dementor preserve he was on first shift night patrol with several others.

**Kitchen Hall, Camp Orange Blossom, August 6****th****...**

Harry bent over a table examining a map that Lee had handed him earlier. It was mid-morning and the riders were assembling after an uneasy night sleeping on the floor of the buildings. Yoshi had contacted Harry early and informed him that a Japanese Defense Force convoy was en-route to the camp with beds, food and other basic supplies.

After he left Harry and the others the previous day, Yoshi returned to the Imperial Palace where he had an office and with a few messages cut short a number of careers and sent many underlings scurrying to do his bidding.

Harry looked up and noted most of the riders had entered the building. "Time to get this show on the road," he muttered to Ronan, and then he turned to the riders. "Good morning. If you're like me, your back is probably wondering what happened to our comfortable beds. Even with the cushioning charms, my back knew it was still a floor I slept on. Well the good news is that within the hour a Japanese Defense Force convoy of supplies, including beds will be arriving. Since these are mundanes making the delivery we can't use the elves to unload the trucks. That means us and our backs no matter how much they may be complaining."

Harry grinned at the low groan that rippled through the hall. "Don't expect normal bedding either. These will be futons, which I can assure you will be far more comfortable than a hard wooden floor with a cushioning charm."

"Draco, organize your wing to move all the food supplies into the kitchen. The elves will take it from there. I'm also pleased to announce that Tinny and his crew managed to finally get the stoves and refrigerator working. So tomorrow's breakfast will be more than cold cereal and tea. For that matter he's promised a nice hot English dinner tonight even if he has to send someone to Campbeltown for the ingredients."

He paused while an appreciative murmur ran through the riders.

"Sakushima really came through for us yesterday so we now have a map of three clusters of dementors within the reserve. They have been continuously overflying these clusters and the dementors do not seem to be moving around much nor do they seem to be aware of our presence. That's the good news, the bad news is even with the clusters there are a fair number of solitary dementors that we'll have to track down.

"Considering the state of Orange Blossom we'll not do anymore than monitor the dementors for the next day while we finish putting the camp back in order. During that time each wing will take the time out to make some overflights of the area just to get used to the terrain. Wing leaders, make sure everyone knows where the capture clearing is. We'll begin herding them in three days. Sakushima will maintain a round the clock patrol which we'll augment at night with a few riders. I don't know about the rest of you, but I want some overhead coverage when we're this close to dementors."

Luna stood up, "Harry, those clusters might be clans or family groups. Little is known about dementors, but they are sentient to an extent and even in Azkaban it was noted that some dementors seemed to favor the company of select others."

Harry nodded thoughtfully and was silent for a moment. "I was not aware they had a sentience to them Luna but now that I'm thinking about it, they had to be to follow orders at Azkaban. I never really thought about it much," he replied softly. "What else do we know about them? If we sweep up one cluster, what will the others do?"

Luna looked uncomfortable. "Honestly not much is known about them Harry. They are a form of demon. No one knows how they came into existence in our reality. The first recorded dementor sighting can be found in an ancient Egyptian scroll that's nearly thirty three hundred years old. What we do know is that there are realities in which demons are the primary form of life. It was thought that the dementors somehow managed to bridge the two realities, perhaps being summoned here accidentally. Their intelligence is very low but we have to assume they communicate. The warden at Azkaban used to issue orders to one dementor only and they would still follow those orders."

Lydia Drake stood up, her expression was deeply troubled. She was the wing second for Wing six. "Harry, I'm not sure I like the idea of killing intelligent beings," she said.

Harry saw that there were a number of faces among his riders that seemed to agree. He sat on the edge of the table and faced his riders.

"Dementors may be intelligent Lydia," he said, speaking directly to her, but he was addressing the entire hall. "But they look upon people as a food source. The British wizards used to use them to execute prisoners by sucking out their victim's soul. When they weren't used to execute prisoners, they were used to guard a prison so terrible it drove most men insane.

"The Weyr suffered our first dragon death when one hundred of the beasts attacked Balmoral castle. You've all seen Narth, the leader of the Balmoral dragon guard, limping around the Weyr. He survived an attack of dementors, and Ranglieth died. Far too many people died that day whose only crime was to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Lydia, ask your dragon what she thinks. Then consider that your dragon wouldn't dream of killing a goblin, human or elf, but they hate these creatures with a passion."

Harry paused when he saw a number of surprised faces among the riders. Many of the newer riders who had no experience with dementors were discovering exactly what their dragons thought about dementors. May stood and crossed her arms, her expression showed she was deeply unhappy about something. Harry acknowledged her wish to speak with a nod.

"Lydia, I don't like the idea of killing anything intelligent either, but these things are evil." May paused and visibly shivered. "I can't explain it any better than that. I watched Harry and Cheki dive onto a... thing that just radiated terror. It wasn't afraid, no it radiated terror that infected everyone nearby, it was a weapon for the creature and not an emotional response to being in danger. It wasn't even near me and I was ready to pack up and go home. These things are beyond dangerous, it's like someone opened a door to your worst nightmare and out poured dementors. If Harry said he wanted us eliminate elves or goblins I'd be the first to refuse. Dementors scare me silly, but I will help destroy them. There is no room for them in this world. They don't belong here at all."

Lydia looked at May and nodded slowly. She wasn't entirely convinced, but she also knew May well enough to know she wasn't prone to making such passionate statements.

"Thank you May," Harry said softly, then he turned his attention to Lydia. "I know, it's distasteful and it makes you feel uncomfortable, but you need to remember these aren't people, or animals even. They came from a totally alien environment and they feed on people."

"Dragons came from an alien environment," Lydia counted hesitantly. She was now sounding unsure of her argument.

Harry nodded. "That's right, they did. They came from another planet in this universe, probably within our own galaxy. And during the time of beasts they considered everything that moved as food, not just people. But they've moved past that point with the help of people like you Lydia. Where would your Hanth be without your love and help?

"The ability of a dementor to instill a crippling fear in a human suggests it's an evolved weapon used against its natural prey source. The really disturbing thought is that it means that perhaps humans really are their prey in their own dimension. That, or we are just unlucky enough that we're similar enough to their prey for their weapons to work on us."

Harry paused and ran a hand through his hair. "Lydia, I won't force you to kill dementors. If Hanth's own fears about the beasts don't convince you then nothing I say will. If you aren't comfortable with the idea, let me know and I'll assign you to some camp duty."

Lydia blinked in shock at Harry and she shook her head. "I'll do my part," she said. "I may not be comfortable with it, but Hanth says that it's wrong to automatically assume intelligence means benevolence."

Harry relaxed; he knew that Lydia had received his other message as had many others in the building. If he assigned her camp duty she would almost certainly be replaced as Wing second. This mission was too important to allow a wing to function with a reluctant wing second.

"Today is the sixth. We're scheduled for an appearance at the Imperial Palace in six days' time. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd really like to report that most of the dementors are gone by then," Harry said. "We're not scheduled to return to Campbeltown until the 20th and the quicker we can get this job done, the quicker we can look over the proposed site for Sakushima and start our candidate search."

A murmur of agreement ran through the riders, they all wanted to get this unpleasant part done. Helping Sakushima transition to a manned Weyr was more important in their mind. Harry glanced down at his notes and his expression grew pinched. "Finally this afternoon we are due to receive some visitors from the Japanese Ministry of Magic. They will be bringing with them enchanted earrings that will allow all of us to speak and understand Japanese. I have been told that these earrings are capable of providing translations for most human languages. Normally these are not available to anyone but members of the Japanese Ministry of magic, but they are being gifted to us. Do not lose yours, replacements are not available. In order to appear normal to any mundane inspection, the earrings are pierced."

He paused and smiled thinly at the site of the girls looking very interested and some of the boys looking rather unhappy. He couldn't blame them, he never thought he'd wear any kind of jewelry other than his wristwatch, and that could hardly be called fine jewelry. He still wore the cheap watch with the cracked crystal face that he had found in Dudley's second bedroom.

"For you ladies, there is a set of two earrings, but only one does the translation. If you're interested in knowing which, you'll have to ask the Ministry representative when you receive your pair."

He looked up at the sound of engines rumbling in the distance. "That's our food and supplies, let's get cracking folks," he called, then he rolled up his sleeves and headed for the door.

The trucks were just coming through the main gate when he stepped out of the building. Officially the Weyr was occupying this camp while they surveyed land for the Weyr and began a search for rider candidates. Only the ministry of magic and a select few in the normal government knew about the mission to eradicate the dementors.

**US Department of Magic, Washington DC, August 10th...**

Arthur Weasley felt decidedly out of place. Here he was, representing his ministry and he was uncomfortable with the fact that not a single person around him was wearing a traditional Wizarding robe.

The American Department of Magic was more closely tied to it's muggle government and because of that fact, these wizards and witches all tended to wear muggle style clothing instead of robes. It was just slightly intimidating to the wizard from Ottery St. Catchpole.

"Mr. Weasley?"

Arthur looked up from the magazine he had been trying to read to see a smartly dressed middle aged witch. "Yes?"

"Secretary Jackson will see you now," she said, "If you will please follow me?"

Arthur nodded and placed the magazine down, then he stood and followed the witch into a lushly appointed corner office that had a magnificent view of the city.

"Mister Secretary, this is Senior Undersecretary Weasley from the United Kingdom," the secretary said softly.

Lyle "Ducky" Jackson looked up from his desk and his face assumed a politician's smile. "Welcome!", he boomed, "Come on in and have a seat."

Arthur sat down and placed a small case at his feet.

"Now then, how can the United States help our British cousins?" asked the Secretary.

Arthur smiled weakly and waited for a moment until the witch had left the room. "Mister Secretary, as you are aware, I've been co-opted to fill the role that Albus Dumbledore once held."

Jackson nodded sagely, "Yes, his loss was a great blow to your nation and to the world. He will be greatly missed by everyone."

"Yes sir," Arthur agreed, then he plunged on, "Sir, the reason I am here is because Albus had been working on an idea. Unfortunately he had left only a few notes on his plan so it fell to me to put his ideas together. I'm sure you are aware that my ministry has a mandate from the crown to find a way to integrate both societies."

Jackson nodded. "I do, but I'll be damned if I know how you can manage it. We've been watching your government carefully to see what happens."

Arthur leaned back in his chair and smiled. "Actually sir, thanks in part to Albus Dumbledore, Her Majesty's government hasn't yet started on it's mandate. Everyone had this image of announcing our existence like they did with the dragons and just sitting back to watch what happens. Albus had a different concept and the more I thought on it, the more I thought it might work, but we would need to gather as much ICW support as possible for it."

Jackson leaned forward in his chair and placed his elbows on the table. "Oh? How can it be done then?"

"Albus was sketched a rough outline of a plan that would take at least five decades to complete. This is a job that you and I would start, but it would be our children or grandchildren that would complete it. Albus wanted to introduce small selected portions of our world, slowly. For example, he thought to announce a pain relieving potion that was invented by a tribal shaman in South America. He knew that mundane science would probably be baffled by a potion that worked and they couldn't say why it worked.

"His idea was to slowly expose pieces of our world until the rest of the world knew about magic even though the governments had not revealed the truth. When the governments did reveal the truth, people would already be mostly aware of it and it wouldn't be that much of a shock to them.

"The dragon announcement came as a shock to the world, and the Weyrs have paid the price for that announcement with massive media attention, some of which has been rather unpleasant. Done right we can avoid most of that process because people will have had fifty years of small surprises instead of one big surprise."

Arthur took a breath and watched Jackson carefully. He had explained his position and that of his Ministry.

"That is an ambitious plan you have Mister Weasley," Jackson said softly.

"Yes sir it is, but it can't be done without help. As much as we wizards like to think our country's are isolated and unique, we all share this world. If Britain were to follow this plan alone, it could result in world wide chaos," Arthur replied.

"Yes, I can easily see that happening. I take it you have an idea of how to combat that?"

Arthur leaned down and picked up his carry case. "I do sir. My government has asked me to present this plan to the ICW. If we can obtain a majority approval we'll be in a better shape to avoid problems in the future."

Arthur placed his case on his lap and pulled his wand slightly from his holster. "With your permission Mister Secretary?"

Jackson nodded a bit cautiously and Arthur removed his wand and cast the spell to open the space enlarged case, then he carefully placed his wand on the table, far enough away to make Jackson relax. "My government sir, wants to form a coalition under the umbrella of the ICW for the purposes of implementing a carefully orchestrated reveal to the muggle world. I have laid out a preliminary plan, but even before that can be agreed upon, I must garner the support we need among the world ministries."

Arthur pulled out a stack of printouts and drawings from the case. "Her Majesty's government estimates that the secret will come out whether we like it or not sometime in the next fifty to seventy five years. If we don't act to preserve ourselves we risk a revival of the inquisition."

Jackson winced and nodded in agreement, he had seen the projections from the Department of the Interior. Large parts of the Military and Intelligence community already knew about wizards and now private corporations were putting satellites in orbit that were nearly as good as the professional intelligence gathering satellites.

"Mister Weasley, I think I can safely say that the US Government will back your proposal. In fact I am going to send you to a gentleman I have working for me who has been struggling with the same problem. Unlike you, he was trying to work out a plan that would have happened over the course of months. I think your long term plan is a better approach however.

"I will ask our normal government agencies to provide you with materials you can use when you present your case to the ICW," Jackson said. "How long will you be in DC?"

Arthur smiled in relief, "I was only supposed to be here for three days, then I'm off to stop in Toronto before taking a portkey to Japan. I'm trying to sound out Ministries and garner their support before presenting this to a full session of the ICW."

"Excellent, gather up your material and let me introduce you to one of our Wiz kids. He's a young man, but Blaine Reading is a wizard who holds a normal degree in sociology. You can explain the details to him and we'll see where we can go from there."

Arthur practically bounced to his feet and shook the Secretary's hand vigorously. "Thank you sir, I was fearful that this would be harder to sell."

Jackson smiled, but he shook his head. "It will be harder to sell, but you got lucky today Mister Weasley. We already knew this was becoming an issue, but to be honest we really didn't know what to do about it. Just remember that not everyone will agree with your plan. "

Arthur nodded soberly. Jackson had been right to warn him that his plan wouldn't meet universal approval.

"Still sir, I am encouraged. Our Prime Minister suggested visiting your country first, he felt that our unique relationship would work in my favor," Arthur admitted.

Jackson chuckled. "That it did," he replied. He was enough of a politician to understand the unique relationship that existed between the UK and the US. It was a fundamental part of both country's policies to see that American and British interests rarely clashed.

**The Imperial Palace, Tokyo Japan, August 12****th****...**

Harry slid down from his seat on Chekiath and looked around for a moment, and then he turned to Chekiath. The parade grounds in front of the elegant building were not very large. "Land the wings two at a time Cheki, Wingleaders can take their dragons over here by you, but I'm afraid the others will have to find a spot to perch or go to Sakushima until called for. And remind them to stay off the Palace please."

Chekiath looked around for a moment then he turned back to Harry. _"Yes, there isn't enough room for all of us,"_ he replied. As he did Wing one and two came in for a perfect in-formation landing.

Harry nodded absently while he pulled off his gloves and put his beret on. He smiled seeing Yoshi nearby looking very excited and he nodded in greeting to the elder mage. As each wing landed, the riders scrambled down and quickly removed their gloves and donned their berets. They were dressed in their dress uniforms for this occasion and despite Harry's wishes, they were lining up in a formation along Wing lines.

Harry hadn't wanted the Weyr to appear so militaristic, but he had reluctantly agreed since they were often appearing at formal public occasions and the neat lines of Wings and riders looked far better than a milling mob.

Getting to this point had been an interesting exercise. The last five days had been hectic and at points downright exciting. Yoshi was ecstatic over their kill count, one hundred and nineteen confirmed dementor kills and not a single injury related to the dementors.

There had been injuries, but none of them were related to the action against the dementors. Bob Malwich had broken his ankle when his harness snapped on landing. Bob had been catapulted from his seat and came down on one leg, breaking his ankle.

Harry scowled remembering that. Millicent however beat him to the punch when she very publicly upbraided him for not taking proper care of the harness. Bob made up one part of the trio consisting of Millicent, Bob and Sammy Hinerman. After she finished yelling at him she grabbed him in a powerful hug and held him for a long time.

The harnesses were made from standard nylon seat-belt material and while they were more resilient than leather straps, the constant freezing and thawing they underwent weakened them until they broke. Metal chain had been tried, but it proved to be too heavy and could cause frost bite if it came in contact with skin for too long. Attempting to coat the chain with a rubber coating resulted in the coating cracking off after only a few trips Between.

Each rider knew that they were responsible to maintain their harnesses, and Bob Malwich had neglected that task which resulted in him breaking his ankle.

Bob had been treated at a local muggle hospital and then sent back to Campbeltown. Harry knew he couldn't do much while the bone healed, so Harry gave him the task of checking every harness in their supply room for cracks and other signs of wear. After that he would inventory their stock of equipment.

It wasn't uncommon for a rider to have to swap an old wet harness for a new one. The older harness was dried out, tested and usually returned to stores so it could be reused. By Ronan's estimate there were some three hundred harnesses in stores that Bob would have to visually inspect and test.

"You are well Weyrleader?" asked Yoshi.

Harry smiled again and shook his head. "I'm sorry, I was just wool gathering. The Weyr is well and eager to meet the Emperor."

"And your injured rider? I heard about that yesterday," pressed Yoshi.

"He will recover, it was an accident that's all. I have sent him and his dragon back to Scotland," he replied. Harry didn't really like discussing Weyr business with outsiders, but he needed Yoshi's support so he was willing to bend his rules in this case.

"Bunta tells me that you were frightening in your intensity when you dressed down your rider," Yoshi offered. The elder mage was intrigued by Harry and what motivated him, so he had the muggle liaison report any unusual circumstances to him.

Harry turned and eyed the man for a moment. Bunta Saito was the Japanese muggle government liaison that Yoshi had arranged to stay at the camp with them. Harry realized that the man would be reporting to the Japanese on events unfolding at the camp, it was a necessary evil, but they needed the man to smooth the way for them, and most understood he would also report on their activities.

"Bob Malwich made an error which resulted in a personal injury. He became careless and risked himself and his dragon in an easily avoidable accident. I do not enjoy having to punish my people, but our lives and the lives of our dragons are too important to allow anyone to become lazy and cut corners.

He knows he made a mistake. He knows what he did was wrong and he knows that he was sent home early as punishment. Yelling at him would have been a waste of time. He knows what he did endangered himself and his dragon.

"He is a good rider and this is the first time he's done something stupid. I have faith that it will be a long time before he repeats this mistake," Harry said.

Yoshi nodded sagely. He had spent several hours last night listening to Bunta Saito speak in fearful tones about the Weyrleader dressing down his rider in a low tone that sent shivers down his spine. Twice a month Harry held a session after breakfast in which he would deal with problems that cropped up among the riders. For the most part these sessions were lighthearted and often Harry would go out of his way to praise and reward a rider for some innovation they had come up with.

In Bob Malwich's case he stood in front of Harry, crutches under both arms and stood silent while Harry read him the riot act for neglecting his safety checks. He never raised his voice, but he had managed to scare and impress the Japanese liaison who was used to superiors that shouted.

Harry used the experience to hammer home a very important lesson that the riders needed to be reminded of. A careless mistake could result in the death of two people, the rider and then the dragon who would suicide by jumping Between. It was a sobering thought that resulted in a number of the riders going back and meticulously checking their own harnesses.

From one of buildings lining the parade grounds a pair of doors opened and two adults stepped out followed by dozens of children all dressed in uniform.

"The children of the palace staff all attend the same school. It was felt it would be best if they wore their school uniforms today," Yoshi said softly then he glanced at the dragons who started making a thrumming noise. The noise had been described by various news broadcasts as the dragon version of a cat's purr.

Harry smiled and nodded to Chekiath who made a sharp barking sound. Soranth and Buth landed nearby and Lee and Mariah stepped from their group and joined their dragons. Mariah had a large box of the dragon posters while Lee would talk to the teachers and students. Harry's smile broadened when he saw the teachers struggling to hold back the children.

Some of the littler children rushed out to meet Soranth and Buth partway. Both dragons stopped in their tracks and just waited for the children to reach them. They knew that sometimes the younger children could hurt themselves if the dragons weren't mindful of where they were.

The main doors to the palace opened and a large group of people exited the building. The two teachers said something sharply to the students who turned and bowed deeply. It was obvious that the small crowd of people were surrounding the Emperor and his wife.

Yoshi stiffened next to Harry and he turned to face the older looking gentleman and the stately woman next to him. The crowd cleared in front of the pair, making way for them to exit the building.

"His Imperial Majesty the Emperor Akihito and his wife the Empress," Yoshi said softly to Harry, "Please Harry-san, follow me."

Yoshi strode forward confidently. He was known at court as a close family friend to the Imperial family, but few knew of his real function as the Imperial Wizard. Harry followed Yoshi and Chekiath followed him. The approach of Chekiath was enough to make the Emperor and Empress pause in their footsteps, stopping just at the top of the short stairway down to the parade grounds.

Yoshi stopped a few feet short of the steps and bowed deeply. Harry was impressed; he had never seen the old mage show that kind of respect before. Self-consciously Harry fingered the small silver star earring that had been provided to the riders. The girls were offered a more ornate flower earring with inlaid gold filigree and the boys had a simpler design of a single small five pointed star.

"If it please your Majesty, I present to you Weyrleader Harry Potter of Campbeltown Weyr and his bonded dragon Chekiath," Yoshi said loudly, then he turned to Harry. "Weyrleader, his Imperial Majesty the Emperor and the Empress."

Harry bowed as if he were bowing to the Queen of England. It was a shallow bow compared to Yoshi's bow, but it was an acceptable bow for a meeting between leaders. "Your Majesty," he said, then he side stepped a half step and Cheki craned his long neck so that his head was just over Harry's right shoulder.  
_"Lord and Lady Holder, the Weyr is honored to visit today. May you find peace and shelter under our wings."_

Akihito watched Cheki with a very interested eye. Like his father before him, he was an acknowledged Ichthyologist and a recognized specialist in the study of Gobiidae. Harry could tell the biologist in the man was busy cataloging and examining Cheki. The Empress frowned slightly and Harry bit back smile when he noted her barely nudging her husband.

The Emperor blinked momentarily, then he smiled. "Welcome Weyrleader and welcome noble dragons to our land." He waved towards a cadre of news people and smiled, then in a much softer voice he said, "We will talk to the reporters for a little bit, then while they are busy talking to the dragons and the children, we'll stroll in the gardens and speak privately. My dear friend Yoshi tells me we have much to thank you and your dragons for Weyrleader."

Harry was relieved that this meeting wouldn't be under the lenses of the press. "We managed to get lucky. Yoshi and I agree, if the original figures are correct, then there are less than a handful of dementors remaining. I've asked Bonth to continue his overflights as a precaution. But two solid days of overflights failed to locate any more of the creatures."

"And if they find any?" pressed the Emperor.

"One of the advantages of being a dragon rider your Majesty, it takes us only a few minutes to go from Scotland to Hokkaido. And in a year, two at the most you will have your own Weyr that can deal with the problem if it arises again."

Harry stopped and looked up at Chekiath who turned his attention to the Emperor. _"Dementors are an abomination Lord Holder. The Weyr will always do what it can to eliminate those foul things."_

Harry glanced towards the press and was pleased to note that they were too busy talking to Mariah and Lee to take much notice of Chekiath. He was glad that Chekiath had learned to limit the range of his conversations so that not everyone could hear him if he wanted.

The Emperor stared at Cheki for a moment, and then he turned to Harry with an inquisitive expression.

"Has Mr. Musabe explained what a dementor is capable of doing your Majesty?"

"He has. Terrible creatures, something I never thought I would say about a creature."

Harry reached up and touched Chekiath, who crooned softly and moved his large head close enough for Harry to caress his eye ridges. "For eons the dragons lived their lives, locked inside their minds, unable to communicate with people or other dragons. For the most part their higher mental abilities were severely curtailed. But their memory is practically photographic, even if they had no understanding of what they witnessed at that time.

"A dementor will take a dragon and force them back into that state. Imagine that, just the very presence of these demons can cause you to lose your ability to think and reason. A rider can prevent his or her dragon from losing their intelligence, but for an un-bonded dragon they have no such protection. Dragons are mighty beings with some fantastic abilities and yet they wisely fear dementors and know that only a concerted effort can accomplish ridding our world of this menace."

"_Narth is crippled because of them, and Ranglieth is no more,"_ Chekiath added softly. It was impossible to miss the sorrow in his voice.

Harry nodded then he reached with a hand to comfort his dragon. "During the conflict to return control of the British Ministry of Magic to the crown, a witch staged an attack on Balmoral castle in an attempt to assassinate the Queen of England. Fifty visitors to the castle were killed, and of the ten dragons guarding the Queen, several were injured, one was permanently crippled and another was killed. The dragons have no natural enemies on this planet, but the dementors are probably as close to an enemy as you can get."

"May I?"

Harry smiled as the Empress stepped forward and looked at Chekiath with a sense of longing. He nodded and Chekiath moved closer to the Empress. It wasn't common for her to be so forward, but it was obvious she was eager to touch the dragon.

The Emperor watched his wife with a gentle smile as she stroked Cheki's eye ridges.

"Dragons are a symbol of power and luck," Yoshi added quietly. "While their meaning has been commercialized in recent years many still believe in the old ways. Japanese people will see a weyr of our own as a symbol of luck and prosperity."

Chekiath thrummed softly and Harry took a deep breath, he suddenly knew what was coming. _"The Lady Holder honors me, but her eagerness comes from the fact that had she been found early enough in her life she could have been a rider."_

Yoshi sucked in a breath loudly and the Emperor's brow knotted in confusion. "What does that mean?"

Harry's smile broadened, this was perfect in his opinion. "It means that the Empress could have been selected as a dragon rider candidate in her youth. It also suggests that the ability might be found still in the Imperial family your Majesty. The Empress feels a natural kinship with the dragons because of who she is. It is possible that her ability to bond with a dragon may have been passed to her children. We are due to start a search for candidates among your people but we would never dream of searching your family without your permission."

Yoshi looked at Harry like he was crazy but Harry wasn't about to let that stop him now. A connection to the Imperial family, even if it was just a particular fondness for dragons because part of that family could impress was something Harry was willing to cultivate. The Emperor smiled and shook his head. "We will speak of this after we have talked with the reporters Weyrleader."

Harry bowed slightly and glanced over to see the Empress talking softly to Chekiath. The sound of children's laughter drew their attention. The press was busy photographing the children interact with the dragons while others set up some video cameras.

This particular press conference was much more civilized than Harry had previously experienced. There was a single interviewer who would ask questions that had been submitted by a myriad of Japanese news agencies. It sure beat standing in front of a podium with dozens of people shouting questions.

One of the courtiers coughed politely and the Emperor nodded, then he gently pulled his Empress away from Chekiath. "Excuse us please noble dragon, but the reporters are ready for us."

"_This is the part I never like very much,"_ Chekiath replied. _"The cameras always make me uncomfortable."_

The Emperor stopped in his tracks and a soft smile spread on his face, then he turned to Chekiath and motioned for him to come closer. "Me too my large friend," he replied with a smile. "Me too."

The four of them laughed as they took seats that had been set up in front of several television cameras. Chekiath maneuvered until he was behind the four. The interviewer, a pretty young woman seemed rather flustered. It was one thing to interview the Emperor, but to do so with a dragon really seemed to rattle her.

Harry glanced at the cameras and noted they were not yet functioning. He leaned forward in is seat. "Miss Hajima, Chekiath will not hurt you. Please relax," he said softly.

"_I wouldn't dream of it TV lady."_ Chekiath added.

She blinked and stared at Harry and Chekiath in shock and he bit back the urge to laugh. Even the Emperor seemed to find the situation amusing.

Hours later he yawned and watched May who was still bouncing around the room in her excitement. After the press conference the Emperor and the Empress escorted Harry down a path towards one of the most beautiful gardens he had ever seen. May in her exuberance rushed up to Harry and started to babble about some of the things she had seen in the garden.

The Empress laughed and questioned May who was an avid amateur gardener. When they left the palace several hours later May was pulled aside by one of the courtiers and handed a small envelope describing a gift that would be headed their way via the Japanese Embassy in London. The Weyr would be receiving a supply of river stones that had been handpicked by the Imperial Gardener as well as a prime selection of plants and bonsai trees. It was a generous gift from the Empress of Japan to the healer of dragons and fellow gardener.

They had returned to Camp Orange Blossom for one more night before moving on to Sakushima to survey the proposed Weyr site. Harry lay back and grinned, then he yawned again. Hermione lay next him on her belly. She had a book in front of her but it wasn't her preferred reading position in bed. The futons lacked a proper headboard in her opinion, and that made reading in bed difficult.

A quick glance over to May showed she was wrapped up, rereading the list of materials and deep in making plans for a Weyr garden that even the dragons could enjoy. Shaking his head he settled back in the bed and reached out with one hand to caress Hermione's butt.

She smiled at his touch and moved a little closer to him. She knew he was nearly asleep and would soon be out like a light.

Tomorrow the real purpose for their visit to Japan would begin. They had earned the money to build their weyr. Tomorrow they would begin planning to make that Weyr a reality.

* * *

**Author's Notes and Mockeries:**

* Well what can I say? You people have totally ruined this section. How can I mock people and answer questions when most of the reviews were about a single topic?! Spath's passing made people cry, crash their cars, steal candy from babies, email the National Republican Committee with death threats, and even made a few rude people run naked through their neighborhood and they didn't bother to take any pictures for me!

Sigh.

Honestly it really was a bit of an ego boost to know so many people found that particular section moving. Not that I need an ego boost considering I am the almighty Bob. NO! DO NOT LOOK BEHIND THE CURTAIN!

* Now we did have a few people sneak in some questions between the weeping and whaling. Yes, it's whaling season again in fan fiction land folks. Remember you must have a permit on your person at all times and your catches cannot be less than forty feet long or you have to toss them back. Now personally I don't approve of whaling, but it does make one wonder, just what goes into making an Eskimo pie? Real Eskimos?

* A few people have asked if we'll cover some of the pivotal events of the last decade. In a nutshell, yes but some of those events are covered only to justify some of the national stupidity that follows. We will not have dragons preventing 9/11 or the day the Mets won the world series. There was an awful lot of history crammed into the first decade of the century and some of it will be in the story if for no other reason than to give people a frame of reference. However we will not rewrite those events.

* 480 people, most of them non-Australians, explained to me what a Tim Tam is. It's a cookie. Thank you, but seriously if I mention something in the notes and you read that chapter A WEEK LATER, assume that someone else has already explained the cookie to me. :)

* Romus Lupin is very concerned that the dragon dung is being treated in an ecologically friendly manner. Our erstwhile eco-dung mavin wants to know if the goblins are processing it properly. All I can say is that I have reviewed their procedures carefully and other than washing out the cargo containers into a drainage connection that feeds into London's water supply, everything is above board and fine. On the other hand I'm glad we have a deep well here.

* Rexnos wants to know if the dragons could move the world's trash into Between. Well first off you'd have to define trash because if I had them do that, the first thing to go would be the producers of reality TV shows. But seriously, think about it. A city like London must produce millions of pounds of trash in a single week. You'd need millions of dragons doing nothing but trash runs, just to take care of a small region like Europe. It sounds like a nice idea until you realize its a logistical nightmare.

* WhiteElfElder wants to know if the dragons can find something that is Between. No. Anne's son took over writing the dragon rider books and suddenly Between went from being a null state to being a place where things could survive without air for months. So not happening, his version of Between makes as much sense as Deathly Hallows and Horcruxes. Bleh.

* BJH wants to know why Charlie Weasley is anti-dragon. There are a couple of reasons for this.

a) He lost a job which he loved.

b) He's in denial over the concept that he's been participating in killing intelligent beings.

c) He's a stubborn Weasley.

He won't remain anti-dragon, but it will take a few years and something important before he sees the light.

* Alifromnm wished me a great Mother's day. Thank you, but I'll have you know you had me checking my gender several times that day just in case the holiday causes a change that I wasn't aware of. As a result of one such check, I now have a court appearance for public lewdity in Walmart. How was I supposed to know they were taping me?

* A fair number of people commented on the scene with the Weasleys. A few guest reviews flamed me for not bashing them. There is no bashing in this story. The Weasleys are not a pivotal part of this story, but will appear from time to time to give us a view inside the magical world.

* And finally a warning, the next chapter will see the first of several major time jumps. The weyrs are working hard to establish a role for themselves, but still time must march on and in each life there will be milestones that we'll need to touch on.


	4. Chapter 4

**標準免責事項**

Bob stepped from behind the curtain and paused to stare at the section header. _Someone,_ he thought, then he glared at the audience in suspicion, _has been playing with Google translate again and converted my __**'Standard Disclaimer'**__ header into Japanese!_

Bob turned to see Alyx wandering out onto the stage, in one hand she held a bloody foot, in the other hand a rusty hacksaw. Obviously she had been playing with the neighborhood kids again.

"Did you see what someone did!" he exclaimed, then he whirled and pointed to the **'Standard Disclaimer'** header.

"I knew it!" she exclaimed, "this is just more proof that aliens exist."

Bob shook his head and wondered why he hadn't picked a more normal wife from the catalog. "Just how do you get from that to Aliens?" he asked, pointing again at the **'Standard Disclaimer'**.

"Real people don't write like that," Alyx retorted confidently. "And will you stop bolding **'Standard Disclaimer'**!"

"You do realize that a significant portion of the world's population uses some form of Calligraphy."

Alyx blushed and hissed at Bob, "Don't talk about that here, this is supposed to be a clean **'Standard Disclaimer'**"

"Hah! Even you can't help bolding **'Standard Disclaimer'**!" Bob crowed.

Alyx moaned and tugged at her hair, "You've infected me you swine! I bet you work for those aliens!"

"Nope, I don't get a paycheck from any aliens," Bob replied, "but how are we supposed to tell people that we don't own Harry Potter or the Dragon riders of Pern if someone can just change our **'Standard Disclaimer' **like that?"

"I got this," Alyx exclaimed, then she tossed the bloody foot into the audience to catch their attention. Once they were sufficiently cowed, she struck a heroic pose and said,

"**著者は、誰もが、彼らがハリーポッターやパーンのドラゴンライダーを所有していないことを知っていただきたいと思います。ありがとう。ゴジラが来ている！"**

Bob moaned, "I give up, start the chapter already!"

* * *

**Beneath Sovereign Skies  
Chapter 04  
Wedding Worries  
**

* * *

**Campbeltown Weyr, May 15****th****, 1998...**

Harry stepped up to the podium and smiled broadly. The theater was less than half full for this very special meeting, "Anyone here feel like they want to take a test?" he asked with a broad grin.

A groan rippled through the assembled riders and he smiled broadly at them. Barely a week had passed since they took their A level exams and NEWTS; just the mention of tests caused people to wince. Harry hadn't bothered taking his NEWTS but he was reasonably pleased with his A level results, not quite as high as May or Hermione, but he was in the top ten percent.

"I know how you feel. First off, congratulations to our magical riders who managed to take their NEWTs and their A levels. Your NEWT results arrived this morning. I have them up here along with your A level results, so come up here to get them when I'm done."

Harry looked up from a sheet of paper he was holding and he grinned. "May would you stand up please?"

May stood and looked around uncertainly.

"May, thanks to your efforts, dragons like Lornth survived where only five years ago he would have certainly died. The riders appreciate your efforts, but they aren't the only ones to appreciate what you have done for us. You have set a standard that every person training to become a Weyrhealer has tried to live up to.

"At the request of Her Majesty, the Queen, you have been awarded a full scholarship to the _Royal Veterinary College_ in London. I know for a fact that you had several other people pulling for you, including Sir David, Sir Robert, Prime Minister Blair and myself. Your scores would have earned you a spot but having a royal request pushed you to the top of the list. Well done May."

May was staring at Harry in total shock which only caused Harry's grin to broaden. "Hermione and I are very proud of you. The college has been informed of your unique circumstances and they are eager to meet you and your dragon. I have been told the book you've been working on will have earned you a lot of advance credit."

May gaped at him, her mouth opening and closing silently and Hermione stood from her seat and gave her a gentle hug, then helped her sit again.

"Hermione, while you're standing, I peeked in your letter; you've been accepted at Cambridge for law. Well done also."

In the back of the hall Emma Granger whooped loudly and the crowd broke up in laughter. Emma was an integral part of the Weyr even if she wasn't a rider. Many of the girls came to her as an alternate mom, plus she provided tutoring in English literature. Her love of Shakespeare was legendary. Emma had even been responsible for the very first all dragon presentation of Macbeth.

Hermione stared at Harry for a moment, and then she collapsed back into her seat amidst the snickers from May.

Harry waited until the theater settled down again. "May wasn't the only full scholarship awarded from an outside source. I'm sitting here with a large pile of acceptance letters and NEWT scores that haven't been opened. In a bit you'll be able to come up here and get your letters and NEWT notices. I want to stress this to each and every one of you. The Weyr will pick up your costs for university schooling or for you to attend a trade school. Unfortunately you'll be limited to being a day student, but then, with your dragon you can return home each day so paying for room and board would be silly."

"Harry, if you haven't opened them then how do you know they are acceptance letters?" Karen Khan asked nervously. She was anxious to know if she had been accepted and Harry's assumption that they had was making her nervous.

Harry grinned. "Because over a month ago the Prime Minister's office received more than a dozen inquiries from universities around the country asking about the legality of allowing Dragon Riders to attend. I have been informed by Lord Mills that the PM's response told the schools there were no legal issues involved and considering the quality of the riders, the schools should be proud to be chosen. You will be there as the first of many riders eventually to attend university.

"Each of you will be going out to represent the Weyr among this nation's finest schools. And they are eager to welcome you. While you won't be expected to wear your formal uniforms, I understand May and Mariah have cobbled together some designs of shirts and jackets showing your affiliation. Speak with them and if there is enough interest, we'll have them made up."

Harry waved his hand towards the large stack of letters and parchment and stepped back from the table as the riders dashed forward to find their letter.

"I note that there is no letter in your hands," Lord Mills said from behind him in a noncommittal voice.

Harry shrugged. "I passed my A levels well enough but it was a difficult struggle to do the study needed and run the Weyr. There is no way I can attend university and still run things here," Harry replied, then he rubbed his chin and absently noted his five o'clock shadow was early today. "James honestly I wish I had the time, but I just can't spare it. Look at what we've had to deal with in just the last year. We've had to evacuate Nevado del Huila to Romeral Weyr and I still can't get anyone in the Columbia government to talk to us. And Al has had to pull me into six different meetings just this last month. He has talks going with two different governments, three companies that want to license the power plant design, another two companies hoping to use dragons to sell their product and a production company that wants to include dragons in their movie. I never know when he's going to drag me in on something."

Harry paused and took a deep breath. "Look, find me a way of attending a school part time that doesn't consume all my time and I'll willingly go to school. We're letting the first riders go off to university and I haven't the heart to tell them that they could be pulled from class if we have an emergency. Ever since we agreed to help the Red Cross and the Coast Guard we never know when we might get called out."

James clapped a hand on Harry's shoulder and gave him a gentle shake. Harry was almost eighteen and every couple of months things seemed to pile up until he felt totally overwhelmed. "Harry, Harry," he said gently. "I understand. I actually hated the idea of telling you that university would be a bad idea for you."

Harry nodded unhappily, deep down he was a little resentful that everyone else could go to a school, but he seemed tied to the Weyr. He didn't mind doing his part, but sometimes it seemed like he was the only one that couldn't take advantage of what the Weyr offered.

He smiled when he saw Hermione showing her parents her results. She had taken her NEWT and also taken her muggle A level tests. Emma was initially surprised that Hermione wanted to go into law but Harry expected it. She had been helping Margret Sheppard for more than a year and was becoming very knowledgeable in many of the tougher legal issues confronting the Weyr. Emma had been certain that Hermione would choose a magical career and she would have been right had Harry not asked her to help Maggie Sheppard.

Not far from Hermione, May stood, talking excitedly on her mobile phone, undoubtedly telling her parents the good news. Michael and Rosie were very down to earth people that took Harry's relationship easier than the Grangers had. May attending university was a major source of pride for her parents as she would be the first of the McNulty clan to do so. Harry greatly enjoyed his visits to the elder McNulty's, especially after May's grandfather had finally checked himself into a clinic to help with his alcoholism. The man was a lot easier to get along with now that he was sober and Harry really hoped he'd remain sober for May's sake.

Harry turned and walked towards the exit. As he did, Luna looked up and watched him leave with narrowing eyes. She turned and walked over to Hermione and said something softly to the girl.

Hermione glanced over to where Harry had been and frowned when she didn't spot him. A moment later May joined her. May looked around and waved James over.

"James, where did Harry go?" she asked when he showed up.

James looked around with a slight frown, and then he shrugged. "He was here a moment ago. I asked him about his own schooling and he seemed a little unhappy with the reality of it."

"Reality? What reality?" asked May.

"May," James said gently. "Harry is too important to the Weyr to take time out to attend any school. He knows it and he's not happy about it. I've spoken with Prime Minister Blair about it and we have some ideas, but Harry is learning that sometimes a leader can't partake in the fruits of his efforts. He worked tirelessly to arrange schooling for everyone. What he didn't say was that several of the schools were originally less than thrilled about dragons on campus. He personally visited several schools to introduce them to dragons and convince them that dragons would not be a distraction to the campus."

"That doesn't seem fair," Hermione said unhappily.

James shrugged. "It isn't. But Harry is learning that a leader sometimes must work for improving the lives of his people even if he can't take advantage of the improvement for himself. I don't think it's a permanent situation. We are trying to arrange for his tutoring to be credited by a university, plus arrange for more tutoring. As much as I would like to see him attending a university with the rest of you, he's too important to the running of the Weyr and the dragons."

"He knew this was happening, that's why he didn't even bother with the NEWTs," Hermione said softly.

"Trath love, where is Harry?" May asked.

"_He and Chekiath left the Weyr. Shall I ask Chekiath where they are?"_

May glanced over at Hermione who shook her head. Both of the girls had an idea where Harry was. They would wait until he returned home before dealing with this.

"No, we'll wait until they come home," May replied.

James frowned. "Where is he?" he asked worriedly.

"Probably Disko Island. Sometimes when Harry needs some alone time he and Chekiath go to Disko, there's a spot along the crater rim where he can sit, sheltered from the wind, and just think," Hermione answered.

"He might have other spots he can go to but he always seems to end up there when he needs to think about something hard," May offered.

"Poor Harry," Emma murmured.

"Eh Poor Harry? Why would you say that?" asked a startled Hermione.

"Harry's worked so hard to see that the riders could have all kinds of opportunities. He told me when he asked for our blessing to court you that he wanted to make you proud of him, that he could be as smart as you," Dan said, answering for Emma.

Emma nodded in agreement. "He's very proud of both of you and he's said on several occasions that he hopes his children have their mother's intelligence. And he knows you weren't happy with his decision to skip his NEWTS dear."

"It was the right decision. Once I understood why he was ignoring his magical classes I even helped him learn the spells anyway," Hermione protested.

"Yes it was, but did you tell Harry that? Or you May?" prompted Dan gently.

Hermione's mouth snapped shut and she took a step backwards, she looked over at May who looked just as unhappy. "We need to talk to him when he gets back," Hermione said resolutely.

"Harry's been extremely proud of both you, lord knows he's bragged plenty about you both to us," Emma said. "I think the fact that he can't attend university like the rest of you is going to make him feel like he's failed the both of you."

Both girls knew there was a problem here. They both tended to emphasize grades as a major factor in their lives, even to the point of having a mild competition between them. Until his A levels Harry had his muggle grades which were very good, if not quite as good as the girls.

Five hours later Harry entered his quarters from Chekiath's door. He had missed dinner that night and the only comfort the girls could draw was that their dragons didn't appear to be upset or even worried.

Harry stepped inside with Chekiath and he turned to watch his dragon enter. He had enlarged the space enough that all three dragons could now sleep there. Because of that, the dragons basically shifted their beds almost daily depending upon the order in which they entered. And each bed was equipped with a place they could use as a bathroom at night that Dobby would empty each day. There were also three dragon reader/writers installed against the wall. Most dragons used them to read but a few, like Comaloth were writing their own stories.

Cheki saw his mates already occupying spaces so he curled up in front of the door. The other two looked up from their reading when Harry and Cheki entered.

"_You're late,"_ Comaloth said with a remarkably Hermione-like huff.

"_May and Hermione have been worried about you,"_ added Trath. _"I tried to tell them you were fine, but they were still worried."_

Comaloth looked pointedly at Chekiath. _"I wanted a shagging flight tonight. I nearly went to Garanoth, but I am your consort, I will not stoop so low."_

Harry and Chekiath shared an amused look between them. As the two female dragons became more accustomed to being Chekiath's consorts, they started develop a little attitude. Fortunately they only used it when they were alone. Harry privately thought the dragons used it to badger Cheki into paying more attention to them. Surprisingly both girls agreed with Harry in his assessment since neither dragon acted like that unless they were alone in their house and never did it in public.

"_Garanoth is a fine fellow, but that might upset Neruth. And I know Harry doesn't want to cover Karen,"_ Chekiath replied mildly, his eyes shining in amusement. _"But if it makes you feel better, I'll cover you twice tomorrow. Unless you want a flight now?"_

Comaloth glanced at a window and snorted slightly, causing a small waft of steam to rise from her nostrils. _"Tomorrow is fine, it is dark outside. Shagging flights in the dark can be troublesome."_

"_That is true, remember when Noborth hit that antenna thing near the smith hall? I thought the master smith was going to break his beak he got so __upset__,"_ Trath offered. _"I like to be able to see what I'm doing."_

Abbey Rhodes' dragon clipped an antenna tower at the science complex during a nighttime shagging flight causing thousands of pounds of damage in the process. It was only then that everyone learned that shagging took precedence over even the dragon's marvelous spatial abilities. Noborth never even knew she hit the tower she was otherwise occupied and received only minor injuries.

Surprisingly Major Atkins had watched the event with the antenna unfold and then she leaned over towards Sirius, "Now you know why it's a bad idea to grope me when I'm driving," she said quietly. Sirius nodded in understanding, he wouldn't try that again. Harry who had been standing nearby listened to Cheki relay her comment and he broke out in laughter. Within minutes half the Weyr was roaring in laughter at Katherine and a very embarrassed Hermione once again explained that the dragon's hearing is quite acute.

Harry chuckled and he reached up to rub behind one of Cheki's ears. "I'll let you figure out what you're doing," he said, then he turned to see both girls standing there looking at him hopefully.

He sighed to himself. They were going to have one of their 'talks'. He could tell just by their expressions.

"When you left the theater today you left so fast, it surprised us. We wanted to talk to you," May said.

Hermione nodded. "You've worked so hard for all of us Harry. And every day you get up to deal with things we barely understand."

Harry knew that wasn't quite accurate. Hermione had a firm grasp on some of the issues he had to deal with. But on a whole no one but Ronan and Cheki understood all of the things Harry had to do.

"Like those contract talks you had with the US Fish and Wildlife service. Who knew someone would pay for us to fly them around so they can count Caribou?" Hermione added.

Harry had been instrumental in setting up an agreement between the Wildlife service and the fledgling Condron Weyr to survey the Caribou and Elk populations in Alaska. When the survey was first conducted he even drafted several wings from Campbeltown to help fill out the survey teams.

Harry smirked. "And I think they were afraid to complain when Chekiath ate one," he added.

"_It was tasty, a bit gamey and different than cow or sheep,"_ Chekiath added from his bed.

"_I wanted to taste one, but Hermione didn't think it would be a good idea,"_ complained Comaloth.

Hermione ignored her dragon and smiled at Harry. She stepped forward close enough to touch him. "The point Harry is you work so hard for us."

"We know you're disappointed that you couldn't attend university Harry," May added softly. "But that doesn't matter to us. You have nothing to prove to us."

Hermione nodded. "You've proven yourself to the Weyr every day since you impressed. Some of us wouldn't be here if you hadn't saved our lives. Me, Michelle, Max to name just a few."

"Plus all of the dragons," May said.

Harry looked down at his feet, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"_They are right Harry, all of dragon-kind owe their existence to you,"_ Cheki added from his sand bed. _"You might not go to one of those schools, but we dragons know you don't need to. And don't forget Sheep Guy said he'd arrange something with the Lord Holder."_

He nodded. "I just wanted."

"We know," May said gently, interrupting him. "But we want you to know it doesn't matter. I know how smart you are, so does Hermione. And I think that if my children have their father's intelligence, I will be one proud mum."

Harry looked at her in surprise, and then he glanced over to Hermione who nodded and smiled at him. "Me too," she offered.

May took his hand. "Come to bed Harry, and don't worry about schools or grades. Things will work out."

He nodded quietly and allowed the two girls to lead him into their bedroom. He was puzzled, he was sure Hermione and May would have been angry at him for not attending university but they weren't. He was grateful for that fact but he didn't quite understand why they weren't angry when it seemed to both of them that school grades were so important. It was something he'd have to think about, and maybe talk to Dan Granger or James about it.

James and Dan were about the only male adults he trusted enough to have that kind of conversation. He loved Sirius and Remus, but neither would be able to talk without turning it into a joke.

**ICW Headquarters, Paris, France, December 1st 1998...**

Jochim Stebbins glanced down at his notes for this last session of the year and only one item remaining.

"Delegates, there remains but one final piece of business remaining before we close for the holidays. I have been informed by our British delegate that he wishes to raise an issue with the membership. He also informs me that he is currently leading a coalition of thirty member nations that wish to bring this information to our attention," he said, then he glanced towards the British booth. "I yield the floor to Delegate Weasley."

Arthur stood, and behind him Blaine Reading held a large poster carrier. The two men had spent months traveling and collecting evidence they hoped would help convince the delegates of the problem.

"Esteemed delegates, I and my colleagues stand before you today highly concerned about a situation which is growing daily and yet is beyond our ability to stop," Arthur said, then he turned and took the poster case from Reading and with a flick of his wand, sent the large images hurtling down to the center section of the hall, just before the Supreme Mugwump's seat.

Stebbins stood and walked around his desk to examine the photos, finally he turned back towards Arthur. "Delegate Weasley, I would like an explanation for these photographs. Clearly they show a number of buildings, but I fail to understand their importance."

Arthur nodded. "Mugwump, my friends, in our desire to preserve our way of life we have ignored the muggle world for far too long. Now we are faced with a situation of our own making. Those images, show Hogwarts, Durmstrang, the Salem Institute for Advanced Sorcery and the Pacific Wizard's school were created with muggle machines.

"Even as I speak to you here today, the muggles have machines that are searching out our hidden places and cataloging them. They have machines that we cannot hide from, or obliviate. Muggle military capabilities far exceed anything we can hope to counter, and they have the ability to destroy the world, including us. We know this, we have seen it in the past. This august body have talked about this before.

"Her Majesty's government has commanded the Ministry of Magic in Britain to develop a plan to reveal our world to the muggles. They have determined that our secret will be out in less than a century even as we try to hide deeper."

Arthur paused and looked around at the alarmed faces staring back at him, some in shock, some in anger and some in fear. "My esteemed predecessor Albus Dumbledore knew this was coming and had even started working on a plan to reveal our world and protect it at the same time."

"Can't we fight this?" whined the delegate from Egypt. The man was clearly frightened.

Arthur shrugged. "Whom would you fight sir? Do you know enough about muggle technology that you can guarantee removing all information about us from their people and their machines? Do you honestly expect to be able to fight your county's army with your handful of Aurors? Most ministries have less than five hundred Aurors and those countries that kept their defense force have a force of less than two thousand. Most muggle nations have armies that number many thousands of trained soldiers. They can overwhelm us by sheer numbers alone.

"Photographs like these are stored in ways that none of us would even recognize as a photograph and I have been told that some of these are literally stored on dozens of machines around the world, how we can understand these machines, let alone find and remove the photographs is a mystery to me."

The Egyptian delegate shook his head in dismay and shuddered in his seat. He had no reply to Arthur's questions.

Arthur gestured and Reading cast a small spell behind him. Elves started popping into the chamber delivering a copy of Arthur's report to every delegate. "Delegates, the information you are now receiving is a copy of our findings as well as an outline of what I and diverse others have planned to deal with this. I urge you each to read the documents carefully and then consult with your governments. Help your ministry understand the disaster that awaits us if we do nothing. We stand on a precipice and we know we have to jump. The question is do we allow ourselves to be forced to jump or shall we control how we do it?"

Arthur turned back to Stebbins and gave a short bow to the Mugwump, then he took his seat and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his brow.

Stebbins glanced down at the thick folder in front of him for a moment before looking up. "Just a year ago we were faced with exposure of our world thanks to the conflict between Greece and Italy. Thankfully that conflict is behind us, but the underlying threat remains. Delegates, please review the material provided by Delegate Weasley, our next scheduled meeting isn't until February, we'll open the issue up for debate then."

Stebbins grabbed the large rock on his desk and rapped it three times against the desk. "This session of the International Confederation of Wizards is hereby closed. I wish each and everyone one of you a pleasant Yule celebration."

In the British booth Reading leaned forward in his chair. "I think that went rather well Arthur," he said softly.

"I hope so Blaine," Arthur muttered. "You know I always envied Albus Dumbledore for his abilities, but being a member of the ICW is perhaps one of the hardest things he had to do. Now I wish he were still here."

**Campbeltown Administration Building, Guest office, December 27****th**** 1998...**

Eddie Took looked up from the computer she shared with several others. The office had been set up to allow select guests access to the local network and email. She smiled at the middle aged man standing in the doorway. Father Tomas Pirello was a Roman Catholic priest and of the three clergy people that shared the office, he was also the only person that was openly friendly to her. To the other two clergymen that shared the office, she was an upstart pretender. Eddie portrayed herself as a Wiccan priestess, but in fact she represented a far older and more established sect than any of the clergy assigned to the Weyr.

The clergy had been invited to the Weyr and once Harry saw that some of them were spending considerable time here, he arranged for them to share an office and access to the newly dubbed dragon-net. The net linked Campbeltown, Condron and Sakushima together for the purposes of sharing data and email. And in Eddie's case it allowed her to answer questions that the riders and the dragons had without having to visit each Weyr.

As a healer that tried to keep up with mundane medical advances she had a passing familiarity with computers. She made extensive use of the email system to deal with distant riders and in some cases, dragons that had questions for her.

Eddie also visited each Weyr at least once a month. She was the only member of the clergy to do so, and she was often carried by Momnarth who told her it was an honor to carry her to the other Weyrs.

The Church of England representative showed up at the Weyr once and hadn't been seen since. Father Pirello and Eddie were frequent visitors, and Mohmar Achmed Birmas represented the Muslim faith even if he didn't mix well with the other clergy. He was a brusque individual who showed up once a week, spent a few hours walking around the Weyr and then he'd leave. He rarely talked to anyone even the dragons.

"Tomas! I didn't expect to see you here. I thought you were on holiday in Sicily," Eddie said with a smile. She respected and liked the man, even if he was part of the competition.

Tomas shrugged. "It seems even the almighty cannot prevent an airline strike these days. With the planes in Italy grounded I decided to come in here to see how our friends are doing."

Eddie laughed and motioned for him to grab a cup of tea. She understood that Tomas had a particularly difficult job. The Vatican had yet to make a ruling about dragons, but they allowed Tomas, a Jesuit priest and a renowned anthropologist to come to the Weyr so he could prepare a report to the Holy See about dragons.

He was an easy going individual who didn't seem threatened by the fact that Eddie represented a competing faith. Because of the Vatican's reluctance to agree that dragons had souls, Eddie was the only clergy actively trying to convert riders and dragon alike.

"So have you had any luck with your superiors?" she asked.

Tomas sighed and shook his head. He sat down on a chair next to Eddie's desk. "I fear that my superiors are allowing their human prejudices to color their opinions. Some are interested, some are afraid and some are looking at dragons as the most exciting theological question to be put before the Holy Father since King Henry asked to divorce his wife. The issue of dragon souls confounds them and I fear they will demand substantiative proof before deciding. How about you?"

Eddie smiled at the man; she genuinely liked him and wished he was a little more receptive to the world around him. It saddened her to know that the dragons could see the spirits that were meant to guide him, but she also knew he had no idea they were there and didn't know how to listen to them.

She reached for her tea and sipped for a moment. "As you know we have no hierarchy like you do. I apprenticed under three arch priests for my right to be listed on the rolls of the clergy. Other than that, there are no restrictions and no organization binding me. As a result I have been teaching our ways openly. I have heard from various arch priests around the world and they all express excitement and a touch of envy that I'm here and not them.

"It would not surprise me if I manage to convert the Weyrleader and others here. Many have shown a great deal of interest despite their backgrounds."

Tomas frowned and then sighed again and smiled at Eddie ruefully. He knew that Eddie was in the Weyr at the personal invitation of the Weyrleader. "In that I envy you Eddie. You don't have to follow orders. Just your heart."

"And what does your heart tell you Tomas?" she asked gently.

"That the dragons are people like the Weyrleader has been saying all along. They love, they laugh, they can be every bit as serious or as whimsical as any of us. That they worry about God and their place in the universe says to me that they are worthy of the Lord's love and salvation. I fear that this is one time his church will lose because of the narrow minded men at the helm. I would warn my superiors of how close they are to losing a unique opportunity, but I can't."

Eddie looked at him with interest. "Oh? Why can't you tell them?"

Tomas stood from his chair and walked over to the pot of tea and poured himself a cup. He took a sip, and then turned to face her. "I'm afraid that you can offer things that my superiors are unwilling to offer," he said slowly. He moved to sit down again and he leaned forward, clutching his cup tightly in both hands. "I am a scientist Eddie, a trained anthropologist who is a recognized expert in the area of primitive societies and what happens to them when they come in contact with the modern world. I'm trained to observe and that's part of what I do. It's an integral part of me."

"And what have you observed?" Eddie asked, intrigued now.

He looked up from his cup. "There are things happening in this... this Weyr which defy rational explanation. And while no one has come out and said it directly I know there are some very unconventional relationships happening here. My superiors would never accept or condone relationships that involve one woman and two men, and yet there are two of them if I've observed rightly. And there are six relationships involving two women and one man."

He paused and looked at her intently. "And I know for a fact that your group tries to hide under the banner of New Age Wicca, but your beliefs really suggest a far older theology that predates even my own church."

Eddie smiled and said nothing.

Tomas watched her for a moment, marveling at her ability to give nothing away, and then he snorted in amusement. He pointed a finger at her. "You are going to win this round my dear," he said jovially. "My hands are tied by narrow minded men that would prefer to sit, ponder and debate what it all means rather than actually do something. Oh I know I could tell them that they are about to lose a unique opportunity to what they consider as an unruly and unwelcome upstart but they wouldn't listen to me until it was too late. The truth is that while they are willing to debate, they are unwilling to act.

"You will win because the dragons need what you can offer that I can't. Acceptance. Plus your beliefs allow for multiple relationships. You are closer than you think to converting the Weyrleader, his wives are the real reason he hasn't yet committed. May and Hermione have their faith and Harry isn't part of either. He seems woefully ignorant about any of the mainstream religions in Britain and that suggests he was never exposed to them while growing up."

Eddie arched an eyebrow at Tomas' oratory. "Wives?" she pressed.

Tomas shrugged. "What else would you call them? I have spoken at length to the dragons and they have told me about the dragon bond and how it can influence the riders. Both girls openly wear a ring given to them by the Weyrleader and they all live in the same house. Surely you don't expect me to believe they have separate bedrooms?"

Eddie nodded, acknowledging the point. "If you're so convinced then why?"

"Why am I still trying? Why am I still here?" he said, overriding her.

She nodded again.

He grinned. "Well for one, I have been ordered to investigate dragon-kind by the Vatican. And for two I find the dragons refreshing. People are the same everywhere. I have traveled in some of the remotest parts of the world and found that people rarely change. Even among the primitive tribes you'll find people lie, they steal, they cheat on each other.

"Dragons truly are different. It's refreshing. Every rider that I've asked have said dragons are incapable of lying. Do you know just how different that is from mankind? I have personally witnessed the effect that they have on their riders. I watched one couple have a disagreement where no one raised a voice, there was no violence, it was just point and counter point until one finally agreed that the other had a better argument. That was the dragon bond at work. Just think, the dragons can't lie and it seems like they can influence their riders to do the same. How can we Catholics hold confession when the Riders don't have any minor little sins to confess? We thrive on confession and the guilt that stems from it."

He paused and Eddie chuckled lightly. She knew he was overstating the case, but it was true that dragons seemed to be incapable of lying and they were affecting their riders.

"And finally," he said, holding up three fingers, "Point three, I can be content that the dragons and their riders are interested in a gentle loving catechism that has polished away it's brutality a long time ago.

Tomas sighed and shook his head ruefully, "I wish I could say the same for Christianity, but we still have a long way to go. I remain in a constant state of astonishment that a creed that preaches love and tolerance can breed people that see nothing wrong with committing murder in the name of their religion."

Eddie leaned forward in her chair and pat Tomas on the hand. "Thank you," she replied. "For being so honest with me and with yourself. Tell me Tomas, how hard is it to reconcile your scientific training with your faith?"

Tomas' expression grew serious. "I wish I could say it was easy but it isn't. I have had my crisis of faith in my younger days and I nearly left the order because of it. My faith is stronger now even if it doesn't exactly match church doctrine."

He grinned and nodded to her. "Of course, that is something I would never admit to the cardinals."

Eddie smiled at that, "Do you believe there are things in this world which cannot be explained?"

"I believe there are things which have yet to be explained," he replied cautiously. It was an answer tempered by a scientific education. "Perhaps someday all of the questions will be answered save one. Why? Science can tell us how, but rarely can it tell us why."

She smiled at his reserved answer, and then she reached into her drawer and plucked out a small stone attached to a leather strap. She handed him the stone and he looked at it in confusion.

"This is a calming stone," she said softly. "Often when the mind is troubled it helps to hold the stone and concentrate your thoughts on just the stone. It's a meditation aid, but I think you will be very surprised at what you'll learn about the world and yourself."

Tomas looked again at the stone, it was highly polished and very reflective, but he could see it was just a simple quartz crystal. "So I just meditate while holding this stone?"

"Not quite Tomas, hold the stone in the palm of your hand and close your eyes," Eddie said. "Just think about the stone in your hand. Think about it as a way of touching the world in new ways. Take slow, deep breaths and concentrate on using the stone to see the world around you."

Eddie watched her friend slip into a meditative trance. She knew he could, it was part of his training to learn to meditate. The difference was the inclusion of the stone. It wasn't magical, but by using it as a focus she hoped he'd be able to reach beyond his own perception of the world.

She turned back to her work and continued working on the letter she had been writing. When it was finally done, about thirty minutes later she put down her pen and touched Tomas on his shoulder. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at her in wonder. "What was that?" he asked breathlessly.

She smiled. "That was the world my friend. Sometimes all it takes is a gentle nudge to alter one's perceptions of the world. That's what I did. I helped you see what you already saw, but in a new way."

Tomas nodded slowly, and then he looked down at the stone in his hands.

"Keep it Tomas. I have more," she said gently.

He had meditated while holding the stone, and everything seemed normal until he imagined himself looking at the world through the stone, then things seemed to alter. His friend had a glow around her, and there were other people in the room, but they were alone! Somehow he was certain he had witnessed a truth that he didn't understand yet.

"I... I think I'll go walk around the Weyr, who knows, maybe I'll find a dragon that wants to convert," he said halfheartedly.

Eddie smiled; she knew he wanted to go off to think about what he had experienced. She watched him walk from the office and started to go back to her paperwork when she paused. She could feel the touch and approval. She reached with her magical senses and felt her spirit guides were pleased. Tomas would never be of her faith, but she had started him down a path that just may someday allow him to reach out to his own guides.

**ICW Headquarters, Paris France, February 1999...**

Arthur and Blaine Reading slipped into the British booth in the chamber and sat quietly waiting for the session to begin. The member delegates has taken the report home with them over the holiday and hopefully had presented it to the individual Ministers.

For both men, the time between the last ICW meeting and this one had been a hectic whirlwind of international travel as they visited countries trying to drum up additional support. To his great dismay Arthur only managed to squeeze in three days with his family over the holiday.

"Almost showtime Arthur," Blaine said quietly.

_He was a strange wizard, but very competent,_ thought Arthur. Young by Arthur's standards, Blaine Reading was a wizard who was working on a muggle doctorate degree in sociology. Arthur was comfortable enough in his own abilities to know that Blaine had been invaluable in the effort to bring the Dumbledore plan to the ICW.

A chime sounded in the chamber and delegates scrambled into their boxes. A half minute later a small door down on the bottom floor opened and Jochim Stebbins stepped out. Stebbins climbed into the high chair behind his desk and sharply rapped his desk with the enchanted rock that always sat on his desk.

"I call this meeting to order," he said in a soft voice. He knew that the enchantments on his desk allowed his voice to be heard easily in every delegate box.

"Supreme Mugwump!" shouted one voice.

Stebbins noted the box that had the lit rune and he suppressed a scowl. It was the Russian box. "Delegate Danakov, you have something you wish to say?"

Sergei Danakov stood slowly and nodded to Stebbins. "I do Mugwump. I know that the first order of business for this meeting is the ridiculous proposal put forth by the British and American delegates. The countries that are agreeing to go along with this, this so called Dumbledore plan, are deliberately playing with fire and intend to expose our world to the muggles.

"My Ministry is one hundred percent against this dangerous endeavor and we strongly urge this body to vote this proposal down. My Minister has instructed me to call for an interdict against all nations joining in this plan since they obviously do not care for the well being of the wizarding world. It is for the greater good of all wizard kind that we do not allow this measure to pass."

Danakov sat with a satisfied smile on his face. Around him the chamber erupted in noisy debate as proponents argued with those that were in favor of Danakov's proposal. Danakov knew that many Delegates personally opposed the plan, but had been ordered to vote for it by their government.

Arthur stood and signaled to Stebbins that he wished to speak. The Mugwump signaled to the Hit Wizard in his control booth and a silence fell upon the chamber as he invoked the silencing runes in each box.

"Delegate Weasley, as this is a British proposal do you wish to rebut Delegate Danakov?" asked Stebbins. It was impossible to miss the hope in his voice.

Arthur placed both hands on the box railing and leaned slightly forward. "Delegates and honored guests, Delegate Danakov raises a point that I find shocking. The very first page of the documentation we supplied outlined the plan in broad terms, including the fact that we cannot continue to hide for much longer. That my esteemed Russian friend seems to think this was a secret and cause for alarm is a surprise to me. The very intent of the plan is to reveal our world under controlled circumstances.

"If you want to be alarmed, then be alarmed over the fact that our world cannot remain hidden for much longer. If we do not start now, working in conjunction with the muggle governments, who can control what information reaches their people, our world will be exposed in an uncontrolled and most certainly violent manner."

Arthur paused and took a deep breath. "One of the fundamental foundations of the ICW is that they have no jurisdiction within a country's borders unless that country puts the entire world at risk. Our plan is designed to minimize that risk and since we last met, over ninety other nations have agreed in principle to support our proposal. This is no longer just a British plan. No my friends, this is a Wizarding plan to save our world."

A large swelling of sound washed through the chamber as the delegates realized that Weasley had over one hundred of the one hundred and ninety six members agreeing to join with them. Weasley had a majority, but it was a slight one.

Arthur turned to Danakov who was scowling heavily at him. "The British people have no wish to tell you how to run your own country Delegate Danakov. If you wish you can continue as you have been and in the end your non-magical people will learn about our world from non-Russian sources. By our estimates there is less than a century before our world becomes common knowledge and I've seen some studies that suggest fifty years as being more likely. You can use that time to hide yourselves deeply and pray that your fellow Russians can't find you, or you can work with your government to ease into it. It is your choice."

Danakov shot to his feet. "You claim you have no wish to dictate but here you are setting terms! We are a sovereign nation and will not bow to your wishes or to the wishes of the lower species!"

Stebbins gestured and the Russian box runes flared again, silencing the man.

"Friends," Stebbins said, "Perhaps it would be best if we discuss this plan in detail and I will remind you all that I will not allow this to degenerate into a shouting match."

Stebbins glared at Danakov who reluctantly nodded, then sat back in his chair. Satisfied, he turned to the British box. Arthur bowed slightly and took his seat.

"I think that we should first hear from someone that has questions about the Dumbledore Plan," Stebbins said, hoping one of the uncommitted countries would step up.

The delegate from Sumatra stood and Stebbins nodded towards the man. As he leaned back in his seat to listen he would have been shocked to know that a lot of the delegates had the same thought.

_This is going to be a long session,_ they thought. And they would be right, it would take a further eighteen hours before a vote was held approving the plan, seventy two percent for, twenty eight percent against.

**Science Building 15, Weyr Research Complex, Campbeltown, April 14****th**** 1999...**

Sir Robert closed the file on his computer and leaned against the back of his chair. He was beyond tired. He had told Prime Minister Blair that he would be resigning as Scientific Adviser at the end of this year and this time he meant it.

There were a number of bright, younger men that could slip into his role as adviser to the government. He even provided the Minister with a list of names of people who he thought could fill his role. He would remain as an adviser to the Weyr for a while longer, but even now he was looking forward to retiring.

His computer beeped, signaling the file save was complete. Satisfied he snapped off his desk lamp and picked up his brief case.

Exiting his office he paused when he heard the loud voices.

"It's just not possible to make it as a single piece, the interface has to be made separately," exclaimed a voice in dismay.

"We have to make sure the seal between the two halves is perfect. Do you know how hard that is?"

Frowning he turned towards the room where he heard the voices and opened the door.

Ronan Clark and Wayne Hopkins looked up from the drawing board they were leaning against. Both were surprised to see the old man was still in the building, they had thought they were alone. "Sir Robert, I'm sorry, did we disturb you?"

Sir Robert smiled. "Not at all my boy, but when I heard you talking, it piqued my interest. What are you two working on so diligently at ten o'clock at night?"

Wayne leaned back from the drafting table and tossed a pencil onto the table. "It's this mechanical drawing class. We're supposed to work on a project together. Most of our fellow students are working on some sort of automotive product, but Wayne and I thought it would be useful to design a container that could protect an egg from the cold of Between."

Sir Robert blinked in surprise then he nodded approvingly. "Marvelous, simply marvelous. Simple in intent, but sufficiently challenging," he said, and then he stepped forward to examine the drawing. The design was a simple metal egg with a foam cushion interior that would conform to the shape of the egg. Since eggs tended to be irregular in shape, they needed to cushion to hold the egg in place and protect it from the metal egg shaped exterior.

He bent over the drawing examining it in detail. There were two rough sketches nearby showing how the two halves connected, one was a simple clasp connection while the other was an elaborate interlocking and overlapping seal. "I take it that you are concerned about the cold leaking in between the top and bottom halves?" he asked.

"Yes sir," Ronan replied, "you know eggs taken Between have a high chance of failing to hatch. Wayne and I are worried that even a small amount of cold could cause problems. We don't know how much cold it takes to damage an egg. Wayne thinks it can survive a small amount and I'm thinking we shouldn't even allow that."

Sir Robert nodded approvingly. "Excellent. You will make a fine engineer someday Ronan, the tendency to over-design in compensation is admirable."

Wayne looked down and Sir Robert caught his glance. Wayne was following a study course that was geared towards basic biology rather than engineering, but both boys enjoyed constructing things and opted to take this elective course together. "On the other hand, let us look at the physics involved for a moment. The interface between your two halves seems to contain the same foam material as the interior foam. I know this material, it's a poor conductor of heat and cold. I daresay it would take many minutes of exposure to the cold of Between before it would seep into where it could affect an egg. A simple clasp connection would be quick to use and safe for most journey's between."

Wayne looked up at Ronan with a look of triumph on his face, but then Sir Robert added a cautionary note. "Mind you, this design is predicated on known conditions. You would be unable to transport an egg in this design through an environment like outer space. Ronan's design with the interlocking lips and rubber coatings may be more suitable for a harsher environment like the vacuum of space."

Both boys shared a resigned look, they had been arguing about something in which they were both right, depending upon the conditions they needed to face.

Sir Robert laughed softly. "Boys, this is nothing to be unhappy about. You have a design that is sure to give you a good grade and with your permission I'd like to pass a copy of this to one of our people to finalize. We could have saved more eggs from Nevado del Huila had we had this then."

Ronan nodded. "That's what made me try this Sir Robert. We lost more than fifty percent of the eggs evacuating that Weyr. If only we had a way of protecting them."

When the volcano ward on triggered for that Weyr, it did so with very little warning. In fact Harry and Campbeltown had just arrived to discuss the move to Romeral Weyr when the volcano exploded. In the rush to move the Weyr some twenty eggs were taken Between. Only eight of the twenty eggs survived to hatching. The riders were appalled by the loss of so many eggs.

A protective casing still wouldn't have helped in that case since they didn't have time to load the eggs into the casings. If they had had more warning it would have been a simple matter of straight flying out of the danger zone, and then landing to put the eggs into the casing before taking them Between.

"It's a good idea boys, well done," Sir Robert said into the gloomy silence that had descended upon them.

Both Ronan and Wayne smiled at the compliment. Sir Robert was in their mind the penultimate scientist, cool and objective and yet passionate about all science. He didn't realize it, but a lot of the riders looked up to him as a role model.

**Weyrleaders Meeting, Hangar Two, Campbeltown Weyr, May 1****st****, 1999...**

Yuko Isikara paced in front of the table nervously. "With your permission of course, but we'd really like to start working with the JDF on rescue..."

The Weyrleader of Sakushima Weyr trailed off when Harry shook his head. "Yuko you do not need to ask my permission, or for that matter, even ask the leaders council for permission. I know you're still getting used to the idea of leading the Weyr but it is your Weyr," Harry said. "None of us would dream of interfering unless dragons and riders were being put at risk."

Lobsang nodded next to Harry. "Indeed, in a way I envy you. The People's Liberation Army would try to exploit us which is why we do not make the same offer."

Yuko Isikara was new to the post. The original Weyrleader for Sakushima had been killed in an automobile accident, causing his dragon to jump Between.

The loss of a rider and a dragon was a major blow to the Weyrs, especially since Kato Jinku had been Weyrleader for nearly a full year and he had been exceeding Harry's expectations. The accident was one of those senseless things that highlight how fragile life is. Kato had entered a cafe to meet with his girlfriend when a truck plowed into the building killing Kato and his girlfriend instantly.

Nearby and in full view of the public, Kato's dragon, Frafeth, bellowed in anguish and leapt into the air, vanishing just a moment later. Frafeth's public suicide deeply touched the Japanese people. It reflected their own ancient values of Bushido in a way. Suicide based on loyalty was not an unknown subject to the Japanese nation even if modern Japan looked down on such things. The dragons were highly popular before the accident, but afterward they achieved a status that placed them just below the royalty.

Half a world away Campbeltown tumbled from their beds as the dragons woke in mourning. Ordinarily they didn't mourn dragons that weren't part of their Weyr, but a Weyrleader's dragon was special. Within an hour Campbeltown, Condron, Maziang and Svartvatn Weyrs and leaders descended upon the stricken Sakushima Weyr.

The dragons and riders were devastated by the loss and the older non-bonded dragons weren't in any better shape. Harry called in elves from Campbeltown to help provide meals while the council of Weyrleaders took over the Weyr temporarily and helped the riders deal with the loss.

The incident shocked the world as it distinctly highlighted the strength of the Human/Dragon bond. Japan was especially hard hit causing Harry to remain at Sakushima for two weeks while a memorial service was held and the Weyrleaders conferred among themselves over finding a replacement Weyrleader.

In the short time from its opening to the present, the dragons had wormed their way into the hearts of the Japanese and especially among the Japanese children. In little less than a year Japan had seen the creation of three different Anime cartoons based on dragons and their riders.

The Weyr was literally buried with flowers and requests for people to visit and pay their respects to Kato and Frafeth. In an unprecedented event the Emperor and Empress came to the Weyr to lay flowers and incense at the small shrine built by the riders.

And that brought them to today with Yuko Isikara, the new Weyrleader of Sakushima. He had been a wing leader at the time and his name hadn't been mentioned when the dragons were considering who would be Weyrleader. Harry questioned Bonth extensively about the choice but he was relieved to know that the dragons had felt the year of being a rider had matured Isikara. The dragons had confidence in him and that was good enough to satisfy Harry.

Harry nodded to Lobsang. He was aware of the issues facing the Tibetan Weyrleader, then he turned back to Isikara. "I think if you contact the local representatives of the Red Cross they will leap at the chance to accept your help. You can also turn to them for courses on basic and advanced first aid as well as training in disaster responses."

Harry glanced down at his notes, then he reached for some papers. "Another issue and one that should be considered good news by all, the Weyr has reached an agreement with both a Japanese and a Scandinavian company to license the power plant design. Both companies have been contracted to build plants to replace existing ones. Plans are in the works to break ground within the next four months."

Harry looked up with a broad smile, "And next month Campbeltown will be attending the first power station opening Denmark. I know they started later than the British, but there were several nasty legal battles that delayed the British efforts. I have promised at least one Wing to be present when the power company holds their opening ceremony."

Harry looked intently at his Weyrleaders. "I think it would be to our benefit if we can be at these plant openings for the next couple of years. We need to drive home the relationship between dragon-kind and these power plants."

Everyone grinned in agreement with Harry. The first of the power stations going on-line would mean a shift in how the dragons would be perceived by many. The Weyrs had been fighting against the impression that the Weyrs had little to offer humanity. Dragon powered power stations replacing aging nuclear reactors would go a long way to dispelling that image.

"I do have one piece of good news to add," Kat offered.

Harry turned to Kat Mathews, an American witch and co-Weyrleader for Condron Weyr. "Do share please," he replied.

"Jasper Brady was approached by a company in the US that specialized in camping and survival gear. We've signed a contract to supply small heated stones for a line of camp stoves and space heaters. The company called Coleman, seems to think they can market the stoves and people will snap them up since they can do away with carrying fuel for them.

"I was skeptical of the idea at first, but Jasper tells me that we're dealing with a one hundred million dollar a year camping gear industry just in the US alone."

Harry nodded and made a note to talk to Karen about a similar arrangement. Kat Mathews might be a witch, but she was quickly becoming Condron's business manager. She seemed to have a nose for sniffing out business opportunities. She also managed to settle her differences with Skip Taylor and last Harry had heard they were seriously dating.

"Excellent, thank you Kat."

Harry glanced down at his notes, then he looked up. "I have a note here from Hagrid and May concerning the Weyrhealer classes," he said, then he frowned slightly. "They say that they will be able to accommodate forty people to attend the planned autopsy of Dracth from Cheeseman Weyr."

He looked up to see the unhappy expressions all around and he sighed. "I know it's distasteful. I hate it and every fiber in my body screams out against it. But when your dragon gets sick and Hagrid is able to save your dragon you will thank Dracth for his willingness to help our healers."

"Harry it's just that..."

"I know Skip," Harry replied, overriding him. "I don't like it any more than you do. I like it even less because May is involved, but as uncomfortable as this is, it's necessary if we are to learn enough to save our dragons when they get sick. You all know about Practh, he would have died had it not been for what May learned from these autopsies. You've seen the numbers, each month we lose a dozen or more dragons among the non-bonded. I refuse to believe that all of them were fatally ill, if only we knew more about our friends we'd be able to help them. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm tired of losing dragons. If we can prevent it, we will."

The other Weyrleaders nodded, albeit with reluctance. Harry didn't realize it, but he had just set a policy decision for all the Weyrs. Each Weyrleader understood the need for it, but as a dragon rider the idea of someone cutting up a dragon, even a dead one, made them very uneasy. Just getting to the point of a dragon passing on without going Between was difficult enough. Lots of dragons attempted it, but only a handful succeeded.

When Spath passed away he had prevented himself from jumping Between, offering up his body for study. Spath had set an example for all dragons everywhere, but it was an extremely hard instinct to overcome. They were getting bodies to study from all over the world, but it was slow going with perhaps one body being available every other month. The only plus that Harry could see was that those studies were resulting in valuable knowledge and life saving techniques.

Practh was a dragon from Indonesia who had contracted a rare infection of his wing sails, causing them to rot away. It was terribly painful for the dragon. He had been brought to Campbeltown in a sling. May, with the help of several of her professors had struggled for nearly a week to fight the infection off. When that failed they opted to do something very radical, May cut out two major sections of wing sail in order to prevent the infection from spreading.

Practh was shattered and only an order from Chekiath prevented the Chinese fireball from jumping Between. May and her father put their heads together at that point and found a strong polymer material that they were able to stitch into place, replacing the missing sail area. The wing sail area was mostly skin and some blood vessels, so removing a piece and patching it with a thick polymer sheet that was sewn to the surrounding sail was easy.

Although that operation would go down in the Guinness book of records for the greatest number of stitches, topping in at over seven thousand. I had taken ten Weyrhealers eighteen hours of working in shifts to get just one patch in place.

Practh would fly again, even if he couldn't fly as well as before. And on the upside a biopsy performed on the material cut away from the wing allowed a consulting pathologist to identify the culprit. A jungle fungus that had managed to get into the wing membrane through a small nick or tear. Future cases might respond to an anti-fungal treatment, saving the partial sailectomy as a final resort.

"Getting back on topic, have your people email May so she can make the necessary arrangements. May says this will take a week. So plan carefully. The entire procedure will be videotaped and I'm told it will be broadcast live on our dragon net. This way your primary healers can participate without leaving the Weyr. We'll house any people that you send since it's going to be done here at our science complex."

Harry looked up from his notes. "Does anyone have anything for me?"

"Jasper says the final report on the dragon's should be made available next week," Skip offered. "We should get an advance copy but there are no surprises in it. NASA is excited by the fact that dragons can withstand the cold of space, and the vacuum, they have even offered to outfit some riders in suits."

Harry held up his hand and Skip trailed off. "It's a good idea Skip, but there are too many dangers in that to jump in without careful consideration. I'm willing to consider it further, but I think we should look at it very carefully. There's a reason why people get sent into space in space ships and not strapped to the outside of a rocket. A rider would be effectively strapped to the outside of the rocket."

Several chuckled, but they all saw the sense of what Harry was saying. It was one thing to know that your dragon could easily handle up to thirty minutes in space without breathing, but what good was that if the only protection for the rider was a flimsy suit.

"Right, stall them," Skip muttered, then he made a notation in his own book and looked at Harry. "I'll suggest to Jasper that NASA look at it further and mention that you're concerned about rider safety. I'm sure they have a think tank somewhere that can consider these issues."

Harry nodded and leaned back in his chair. "I'm not against the idea. Lord Mills even mentioned to me the idea of dragons being able to place satellites in orbit. Right now it's just an idea, and it's a dangerous one. I'm not saying we won't do it, I'm saying that we won't do it as its been presented."

Harry looked around carefully, and then he pulled out his wand and cast a privacy charm. The wizards among them raised an eyebrow at his actions. "You all know my second, Ronan Clark? He expressed an interest in studying this field for us. He and I have sat over many a cup of tea in the evening talking about just this topic. If you listen to him there are countless worlds out there to explore, including worlds that men could travel to and live on."

Skip nodded. "There are, although there are none to be found in our solar system."

Harry nodded. "I've given this some thought and I think that space is something we need to be extremely cautious about. Ronan has my permission to work on this for us once he's done with school. If you have any riders with similar interests, encourage them to talk to Ronan, but tell them to keep it as a Weyr secret. Let Ronan organize this as a private Weyr effort. Karen is already setting up a fund to help with the effort and Ronan has plans to put together a design group that would act as a cover for their real purpose."

A hush settled on the Weyrleaders and Kat Mathews leaned forward in her seat. A Weyr secret was something that could only be discussed with other riders. No outsiders were to know of it. "A Weyr secret Harry? Why?"

Harry shrugged. "Honestly Kat I'm not entirely sure so I'm being cautious. If Ronan is to be believed and I have no reason not to, space could offer more to humanity than even our hot rocks. Hot Rocks and their uses are our ticket to being accepted by society. What will space be? I don't know, but I do know that unlike hot rocks, we'll control our own involvement. If we get involved in any sort of outer space ventures, it will be of our own doing and entirely under our own control."

Harry glanced around. "Is that it?"

When everyone nodded, he dropped the privacy charm, and then he turned to Hermione who had been sitting quietly in the corner, recording the meeting. "Hermione, make sure everyone gets a copy of this meeting with an appropriate security stamp. Since we're done with this portion I'll open the meeting now."

Hermione nodded and placed a fresh sheet under her dicta-quill. She took the notes she already had and placed them in a briefcase that only she and Harry could open. Later Hermione would type up the notes and send out email copies in a couple days.

"Norendrath is there anyone wanting to speak with us?" Harry asked.

"_Smelly Dog says that Sheep Guy and the Master Smith want to talk to you. Smelly Dog also says that Sheep Guy seems annoyed that the Weyrleaders are meeting in private."_

Harry grimaced and nodded. "Very well, tell Sirius that it's alright to let them in now."

A minute later the door to the conference room opened and Sir Robert and Lord Mills entered. Sir Robert seemed unconcerned about the delay and as usual, seemed excited about something. James on the other hand seemed unhappy that Harry had decided to hold a closed door meeting that he wasn't invited to.

Harry looked up and smiled. "Gentlemen, good morning."

James stopped and looked a little confused by Harry's greeting. Meanwhile Sir Robert plowed on. "Harry my boy, look look!" he said excitedly, waving some blueprints around.

Harry leaned back in his chair and smiled. "What have you got there Sir Robert?"

Sir Robert blinked and looked a bit surprised as if he were unaware of anyone being in the room, then he spotted Harry. "Oh Harry! It's marvelous. Our friends at British Railways dug through their engineering archives and they managed to locate the blueprints for the 'Evening Star', the last steam locomotive engine built in Britain back in 1960.

"They farmed out the design to an engineering company to replace the firebox with a hot rocks source and update the rest of the design. These are the finished designs updated with today's technology. It will look like an old fashioned steam engine, but its fully modernized to be lighter and more efficient. British Railways is debating whether or not to proceed, but still, it's a wonderful thing. I remember steam trains..."

The old man trailed off and the others smiled at his excitement.

Harry leaned forward and made a quick notation in his book. "If we can help convince British Railways, we'd be happy to help. Powering their electric grid has got to expensive."

Sir Robert nodded. "It is my boy, it is. Even if they don't use this design they may still start using our smaller power stations. I'll talk to Lee about this?"

Harry nodded. "Please do. Lee can coordinate whatever you need Sir Robert."

Lee Jordan was head of the public affairs office for the Weyr and occasional spokesperson although that job was given to Mariah. Lee was also the person to see if you needed dragon resources for some event outside of the Weyr. Harry expected that at some point British Railways would want to talk to the Weyr about hot rock production and Lee as the PAO would the first person they would contact.

Harry turned his attention to James. "James, I apologize for keeping you out of our meeting. But honestly, can you tell me about every conversation you've had with the Prime Minister?"

James frowned and sat down in an empty chair. "No lad, some of them were classified."

Harry nodded. "I know James and I have trusted you despite that," he replied, and then he waved to the other riders present. "We're doing something new in our existence James. Look around you and you'll see people whose names will be remembered alongside Washington, Jefferson, Wellington and Churchill. Lobsang, Taylor, Mathews, Gustavson and Isikara are just the first.

"The first Weyrleaders and their riders are building a nation. Quite a lot of that, most of it in fact, will be done with your help and willing support. But just as your nation requires you to keep secrets, somethings we discuss need to be kept within the Weyr."

"Don't forget Potter," growled Hermione from her seat. Harry glanced over and gave her a soft smile, and then he turned his attention back to James.

James ran a hand through his hair, then he turned to look sourly at Sir Robert who was chortling merrily at him. "I warned you," Sir Robert said. "I told you this would happen once we started teaching him diplomacy and politics."

James nodded sourly. "You did, but I didn't think it would happen this soon," he said with a grunt, then he shook from his mood. "I'm sorry Harry, but you are correct. The Weyr is entitled to its secrets. They are a necessary evil of statecraft.

"And Hermione is right, Potter is the name that will lead that list," he said, and then he paused and took a breath. "Anyway I wanted to give you an update on our first power plant. The last legal battle cleared the courts yesterday and they are ready to begin testing. The official schedule is for the plant to go on-line in three months. I've been asked by Minister Blair to tender an invitation to the Weyr for the opening ceremonies. Her Majesty is also expected to attend."

Harry nodded and made a notation in his book. "The Weyr would be honored and proud to attend my Lord," he replied formally, then he relaxed somewhat and said in a teasing tone, "But the Danes still beat you to it."

James nodded ruefully. "Yeah they did. They were fortunate that they were able to avoid several court battles but better late than never. Honestly I never expected an attempt to prevent the plant from coming on-line after it was built."

Both plants had been started around the same time, but there had been two minor suits that delayed the British by a few months. The last suit came as a surprise just months before the plant was due to begin testing before connecting to the grid. The outfit bringing the suit was supposedly an environmental group, but investigation had revealed they had backing from several oil companies. Needless to say, once that fact came to light the suit lost a great deal of credibility.

The Weyr was pleased to discover that neither British Petroleum nor Exxon were behind the suits. Both companies had partnered together to build the heat transfer chambers that each power station would require.

The lawsuits had resulted in delays resulting in Britain being beaten by the Danes.

Harry grinned and the others chuckled, they all knew that the British had hoped to lead the way with the dragon powered power stations. There had been some gentle competition between the two companies building the plants that the Weyr and the press had focused on.

James smiled along with the others, he was glad that Harry was willing to talk to him, but he would still have to report that the Weyr was keeping secrets to the minister.

Later that evening Harry crawled into bed with a scowl. This was the fifth night in a row where May was spending the night down in London rather than coming home. Hermione spotted his expression and she sighed to herself. She missed May as well, but she knew Harry would miss her deeply. May and Hermione were like sisters now and it bothered her that May would be away so often of late.

"I'm sure she's missing you too Harry. I know I would be if I were her," Hermione offered.

He looked at her with a hopeful expression. "Do you think so? I don't like her being away from us."

She nodded and moved closer to him. They were a family and without May both felt like something was missing. "I do. I also miss our nighttime talks between the three of us. It's just that she's working so hard on that project of hers."

She didn't want to mention that she had a similar school related project that could consume most of her free time, but she refused to let anything interfere with her evenings with Harry. Her mum had told her that no matter how driven she had been in university, she never let it get in the way of her relationship with her father. If there was one woman in the entire world that Hermione admired, it was her mother and she took that advice to heart.

Harry nodded and sighed for a moment, and then he wrapped his arms around her a little tighter than usual. Hermione didn't need to be a mind reader to know what was bothering him. She made a mental note to herself to call May tomorrow and arrange for them to talk, and then she smiled wickedly in the darkness. _Since May isn't here, I might as well make good use of having the bed to just the two of us,_ she thought, then she lifted herself slightly and slid her body over on top of Harry, kissing him deeply.

Harry was initially surprised, then he enthusiastically returned her kisses.

**Harry's Quarters, Campbeltown Weyr, May 25th, 1999...**

May paused and held the door open for Hermione who had a armload of books. The two girls were even closer now, thanks to Hermione pulling May aside and explaining exactly what her absence was doing to their relationship. It had been a sobering experience for the young blond woman, and one she vowed not to repeat.

Hermione entered and placed the books down on a nearby desk with a sigh of relief. Since they were her muggle textbooks she didn't dare cast a featherlight charm on them. There was always a risk that one of her books might be picked up by one of her fellow students who would instantly know the book didn't weigh the correct amount.

May stopped next to Hermione and nudged her gently, then motioned with her head towards the coffee table in front of their large couch. On the table was a platter with a large chocolate cake and a steaming pot of tea.

"Uh oh," Hermione muttered.

"Harry's baked a cake," May replied. "That means he thinks he did something wrong."

The girls were surprised to discover that Harry was very good at cooking, but he didn't do it often because he didn't want Dobby to be offended. Most of the time he cooked, he did it to relax, but on two previous occasions he had done it as a peace offering.

Hermione glanced at May. "Do you know what he's done?"

"No, you?"

She shook her head, then sighed. One of the times he baked a cake it had been to apologize because Weyr duties kept him from being able to make love to either girl for two weeks. Neither girl felt that way and were shocked at his apology and peace offering. Both girls understood why he felt the need to spend two weeks at Sakushima Weyr. Popping back and forth every day would have been too much because of the time difference.

The second time he apologized it was because he had broken a favorite cup of Hermione's that her grandmother had given her. It was a careless accident on his part and magic had easily repaired the family heirloom, but Harry was certain that Hermione would be furious with him for breaking the cup.

Harry came into the living room and spotted the girls. He gave them a weak smile and waved them forward.

He moved to sit in an armchair facing the couch.

"What have you done that you think we're going to be mad at you Harry," May said, sitting on the couch.

Harry blinked and chuckled softly, then shook his head. "Nothing yet but I do want to bring up something to both of you."

Hermione looked up from pouring herself and May some tea. "What would that be?"

Harry fidgeted for a moment, then he took a deep breath. "Would it bother either of you if I asked Eddie to accept me into her faith?" he asked uncertainly.

Both women looked at him in surprise. One of the fundamental differences between May and Hermione was religion. Hermione was a Catholic and May belonged to the Church of Scotland.

Hermione sighed and looked over towards May. "I suppose in a way, this is our fault. Neither of us really tried to convince Harry of our beliefs," she said softly then she turned back to Harry. "Can I ask what your reasons are?"

Harry leaned back on his chair. "No matter how hard I try to forget it, I still remember being locked in my cupboard, hungry and in pain. I tried praying to Jesus for help but it never came," he said softly, refusing to meet their gaze. "I remember hearing about the Dursleys who thought they were great Christians but they would spend hours sniping at their neighbors. The only exposure I had to religion was what I heard on the telly and I couldn't help thinking about what I had done wrong that Jesus wouldn't help me."

Harry's expression took on a faraway troubled look and Chekiath crooned softly in his stall. The large dragon lay watching the three of them intently. He was obviously interested in the conversation and didn't like the fact that his rider was getting upset.

Harry blinked and shook his head, then he shot a quick grin at his dragon before turning back to the others. "Out of all of the religions that have visited the Weyr, only Eddie is truly accepting of us. Father Tomas wants his superiors to accept us, but they are unwilling to commit to anything. Vicar Stafford has visited just once and that Muslim guy, Imam Birmas visits once a week, walking around and scowling at everything. Each of these groups preaches tolerance, but the undeniable fact is they don't really mean it." He lifted his gaze and met Hermione's. "Tell me that you're not disappointed by the fact that the Catholic church refuses to say one way or another if dragons have souls," he said, then he turned to May. "The Church of Scotland didn't even bother sending a representative, and the Church of England seems split between acceptance of dragons and a call to slaughter them as devil spawn. The one representative they sent didn't want to be here and has never returned. The Archbishop spoke highly of meeting with us and then got bogged down in church politics.

"Where is the gentle, tolerant behavior they profess to teach. Where is the understanding and willingness to adapt to new situations?" he said firmly. "Eddie Took offers an alternative, and something more. Hermione will understand this part."

Harry held out a hand and whispered something unintelligible. A small golden flame appeared floating above his palm. "I feel no pull on my core Hermione," he said softly, his voice was tinged with awe. "No pull at all."

Hermione frowned and leaned forward on her chair. "How did you do that?"

"I asked for a light to guide me," Harry replied. "It's an old Gaelic prayer to Ernmass the Earth Mother."

"Harry, that could just be you invoking some powerful spirit," Hermione cautioned. The golden light deeply troubled her. The fact that he couldn't feel any pull on his core bothered her even more. Of all the wizards she knew, Harry was the one most attuned to his core. It was a function of being a mage. That he could invoke an exterior entity to create an obviously magical light shouldn't have been possible.

"Isn't that what praying to Jesus is? Calling on a powerful spirit for aid?" he countered. "Seriously you have faith that some guy who died two thousand years ago can help you. What's the difference between your faith in Jesus and Eddie's faith in a deity that is thousands of years older than yours?"

May shook her head. "He's got you there Hermione. It boils down to faith. I have to admit that Eddie troubles me. Her religion seems more active than any other. I won't say she can do miracles, but I've seen her do things that really make me wonder."

May turned to Harry. "I did not fall in love with you because of your religious beliefs. You are a good and kind man Harry Potter, the kind of man I want to be the father of my children. Religion is a deeply personal thing and I think that if you find comfort in the teachings that Eddie offers you should seek it out. You have valid questions that I can't answer and the Clergy that have visited don't seem to want to confront."

May paused and one hand reached up to twist some of her hair, it was a sign Harry recognized that she was thinking hard. "I will admit I was unhappy that the Church of Scotland did not send a representative to the Weyr. I spoke to my parents local vicar and he said the church elders were unwilling to commit at this time. I explained to the vicar that their unwillingness to commit might cost them converts, but he brushed me off. He had no interest in a congregation that wasn't human."

Harry ran a hand through his hair. "I am not trying to convince anyone to convert here. The more I think about it the more troubled I feel about the Christian faiths. I've spoken with Father Tomas several times now and I find him a likable fellow, but his answers to my questions seem - forced, as if he had trouble believing in them himself. If either of you are against it, then I won't speak to Eddie about it. I probably will never be a good Christian but your opinion is what matters to me the most. Say no and I'll drop the subject and forget about it."

Hermione crossed her arms and scowled. "What about our children? I don't know about May, but my faith expects me to raise my children as Catholics."

Harry leaned back in his chair. "Well that was never going to happen was it Hermione?" he replied harshly. "Not unless you were planning on convincing May to also convert, and then figure out how to get the pope to forgive the fact that you're in a relationship involving three dragons and three people."

Harry sighed and continued in a softer tone. "My take on it is simple. Expose the children to all three faiths and let them make their own decisions when they are old enough. The harder issue is the fact that for you two, your faith will never accept your relationship. What would your church do if they knew what kind of life you're living Hermione?" he asked.

"I don't know," she whispered.

"They'd excommunicate her," May said. "Mine would do the same."

"They'd refuse to talk to you?" Harry said incredulously.

May chuckled at Harry's misunderstanding and Hermione smiled. "No love, they would kick us from the church and claim we were destined to go to hell," May replied.

"They don't do it often, but the church has done it for less reasons these days. There was a time when just getting a divorce would earn an excommunication," Hermione added softly then she sighed. "I am starting to see what you've been saying Harry. They preach tolerance and forgiveness, but in some ways they aren't tolerant or forgiving."

"Hermione," Harry said uncomfortably. "I never meant to force you to question your faith."

Hermione placed her cup down on the table and stood, she walked around the table and knelt by his chair. "Sweetheart," she said. "If there is one thing I have learned about you is that you look very carefully at something before making a decision these days. You have obviously thought a great deal about this and have brought up issues I hadn't considered. If I sound annoyed it's because I've been refusing to look at this logically. I wanted you to convert to Catholicism, May too. I wanted us to share that experience."

Hermione leaned back on her knees and shook her head ruefully. "You were right to point out the flaw in that idea. But at the same time I don't think I'm quite ready to give that up either."

"Harry isn't asking you to Hermione," May pointed out gently.

Hermione smiled at her. "I know. I also know that Harry still has one more reason he hasn't told us yet."

Harry smiled at her. "Oh?" he challenged, she knew him too well!

"You know you do. As much as you want to share this with us, you also want to share it with your dragon," Hermione countered.

Harry chuckled. "Can you imagine the riders and dragons attending mass at Saint Peters in Rome?" he asked.

"Or just a local church on Arran," May murmured. "There'd be no room in Saint Brides in Brodick."

Harry smiled at that. May had shown Harry around Brodick which was the largest settlement on the Isle of Arran, and the place where she went to school. He remembered well the quaint little church that he attended Christmas services with her and her family. Just trying to fit Chekiath into the building would require knocking out a wall!

Hermione stood and walked back to her seat where she took a sip of her tea. "Harry, if this is what you want to do I wouldn't try to stop you. In fact you've given me pause. I believe I am a good catholic, but I know according to my teachings I am sinning even if it doesn't feel like I am. I also know they would never accept what we have. Between you and Eddie you've presented a powerful case that I can't argue against."

She held up a hand stifling Harry's protest. "I know, you're not asking to argue about it. The simple fact is that the more I look at your case the less convinced I am that my own case is the right one," she said, then she shrugged. "I don't know. I guess it's not unreasonable to accept that Eddie will be taking in a lot of us, even me eventually. I'm not willing to give up yet, but I am deeply disappointed in my own faith."

"Maybe that's the singular problem with all religions," May offered softly. "Ultimately there are people in control, making human mistakes. We hope they won't make mistakes, but we all know they do."

Hermione nodded grimly, then she brightened. "Well enough with the glum talk. I feel the need for a big piece of Harry's cake. If he even quits being Weyrleader he'll certainly be able to get a job as a bakery chef."

"_Harry would never quit being Weyrleader,"_ Chekiath said from his stall. _"I know he doesn't like it, but he does it for all of us."_

May chuckled and glanced over at Harry who had covered his face in his hands. "We know Chekiath, but Harry does make a wonderful cake. It's a shame that dragons don't have a sweet tooth."

"_I know. It's strange, I have so many teeth, but none of them are sweet,"_ Chekiath replied.

Both girls stared at the dragon who was opening is huge mouth and exposing over one hundred teeth. Harry on the other hand slid off his chair in laughter.

**Campbeltown Weyr, May 30th 1999...**

"Eddie are you busy?"

Eddie looked up from her desk and smiled at the people standing in the doorway. "Millicent, hi there. Come on in."

Millicent entered the room followed by Bob Malwich and Sammy Hinnerman. The three riders had been asking her some rather deep questions of late and she was sure that sooner or later they would ask to be taught about the Goddess. The only one that seemed to be even more interested was the Weyrleader and she was certain he wasn't going to make a decision until he had examined it from every possible angle.

Harry seemed to know instinctively how to react to serious situations, but when he had time to consider a course of action he would examine every aspect before picking a path.

Eddie motioned to the chairs and the trio sat down, each of them was looking a bit nervous albeit for different reasons. Eddie liked Millicent who came from a family that still upheld many of the old traditions. Millicent herself had rejected many of her family's beliefs, but she was very interested in what Eddie had to offer.

Eddie looked over the trio, Millicent had blossomed in the Weyr, changing from a dour girl who had few friends to a budding scientist who found reason to smile often. Eddie had been told the tales of her life before the Weyr, and of the family that tried to bargain her away for a business advantage.

Now she was in a three way relationship with two muggle riders and all three seemed to be very happy.

"Goddess' blessing on you," she said mostly out of habit. All three riders bowed their heads briefly then looked up at her again.

"So what can I do for you three today?" Eddie asked.

Milli glanced at the others, then took a deep breath and plunged right in. "Eddie, I, that is, we would like you to perform a handfasting, if possible, on this coming solstice."

Eddie smiled broadly. "I would be honored to perform the service, and that would give me enough time to instruct you in the ritual. Tell me, will you also want to perform the marriage bonding afterwards?"

Millicent shook her head no; it was obvious she was not happy with that answer. Bob reached for her hand and said, "We're not sure Eddie. Milli has told us about it, and what it would do to her. Sammy and I don't want her to go through with that and she disagrees. In fact it's been just about the only thing we've disagreed about since Tarianth and Pandorth rose for their first mating flight."

Eddie looked over to Millicent for a moment in thought then she turned to the others. "I presume this is about how the bonding will shorten Millicent's life?"

Both men nodded, neither of them wanted that to happen.

Eddie nodded, this was something she had seen many times before in mixed marriages. And it was something she was used to helping the non-magical understand.

"Bob, Sammy, Milli isn't offering this option as a way of hurting herself," Eddie said gently. "Marriage, especially among magical people is supposed to be a joining of equals. Milli is a powerful witch who could well live to one hundred and forty years old. As muggles your lifespan is only half of Milli's. Are you willing to condemn her to fifty years or more without you? Her magic through the bonding will reach out to share itself with you both. Her lifespan will drop, and yours will increase. It will try to even everyone out so that there is less of a difference between you all. It may mean that all three of you could live to one hundred instead of two of you living to seventy while Milli lives to one hundred and forty."

"We know all that," Sammy protested.

"Then what is the problem?" asked Eddie in confusion.

Sammy laid a hand on Millicent's arm and she gave him a weak smile. He turned back to Eddie. "We understand what it means and what it will do, but Bob and I don't like the idea that we would be responsible for shortening her life."

Bob nodded. "I would feel terrible about it. My mum used to buy my grandda his cigarettes after he retired. When he died of lung cancer she blamed herself, she thought she killed him," he said with a shudder. "I couldn't ask that of Sammy and I certainly won't ask that of Milli."

"And yet I would willingly do this for you both," Millicent said fervently.

"_You all are very being silly and I think it's time to stop this!"_ Tarianth exclaimed. Tarianth was a Hebridean Black dragon and nearly twice as large as the vipertooths that were bonded with Sammy and Bob. It was very obvious in her tone that Tarianth was clearly the alpha dragon in this triplet.

Eddie couldn't help but wonder if Millicent was also the alpha in the triplet.

Millicent started and looked towards the ceiling, "Tari?" she exclaimed.

"_I'm sorry Milli but this fight has been going on and on for months and all it's doing is delaying your happiness,"_ replied Tarianth. _"__You could have spent all that time happily shagging instead of endless talk talk talk."_

"Tari, don't you see? If we do this, Milli will lose years off her life!" Sammy said brokenly.

"_No she won't,"_ Tarianth replied firmly. _"You three have been fighting over this for months and I'm tired of listening to it. You have all forgotten one very important thing."_

Milli glanced over at Bob who shrugged, he couldn't think of anything they had forgotten. Both turned to Sammy who shook his head.

Eddie leaned forward on her chair. "Tarianth, what have they forgotten?" She wasn't surprised that the dragon had joined the conversation, but it did surprise her that Tarianth seemed so certain of something.

"_Am I not magical? Or Pandorth? Or Rasilorth? Can we not also be part of the bonding, adding our magic to Milli's?" _Tarianth asked indignantly. _"Will that not insure we all share in a longer life? Together like we were meant to?"_

Millicent's mouth dropped open and she looked around at the others. Eddie laughed lightly, "Leave it to the dragons to see what we have been overlooking. Harry's been saying all along that even the human couples are really four people. The bonding doesn't require any special spells cast by anyone but the bonder. Since Milli would be the bonder for the ritual, all she would need to do is include the three dragons in her casting."

"Wouldn't that shorten their lifespans as well?" asked Bob worriedly.

Millicent shook her head. "I don't believe so. Dragons have a higher magical index than wizards. And don't forget we really don't know what the natural lifespan of a dragon is. All of the older dragons today grew up in the wizard reserves where they weren't treated well. A bonded dragon has a lifespan of whatever their rider is. If I were to include the dragons... who knows what changes that would make to our lifespans."

"_Your lifespan is what it is,"_ Tarianth said, _"How long you live is less important than you think. How well you live is more important."_

"Very wise words," Eddie said softly, "Wise words indeed, and an idea we would all profit from. Thank you for that Tarianth." The Druid priestess turned her attention back to the three dragon riders. "I take it that solves the problem?"

Milli looked at Bob who nodded, then they both looked to Sammy who also agreed. "It more than I expected," he admitted, "I'm game, the idea that our lives might be longer is appealing, especially if we're together."

Eddie marked down the date on her calendar then she looked up. "I want to meet with each of you, both together and privately during the next two weeks. Milli I'll help coach you on the bonding spell."

Millicent nodded, her mind was already whirling with a list of things she'd need to get done and she hoped she could get some help from Emma Granger who acted as a surrogate Mum for most of the girls. The thought of Emma made her consider something else.

"Oh my," she said suddenly and everyone turned to her.

"Milli, is something wrong?" asked Eddie. She wondered what obstacle the young woman had thought of.

Milli shook her head and grimaced. "You need to talk to Hermione," she blurted. "If our dragons can share in our bonding, what kind of bonding will a Mage, an above average witch and three of the largest dragons on the planet have?"

Eddie leaned back in her chair. "Oh my indeed," she said softly as it hit her. The Weyr's bondings would undoubtedly be different than the usual ones she participated in, but The Weyrleader's bonding would be unique. Eddie made a mental note to send an email to Hermione about it.

Bob chuckled and shook his head. "The Weyrleader never does anything by halves."

"_Of course he doesn't,"_ Comaloth said suddenly. _"He is more like his dragon than anyone knows. And like his dragon he is capable of covering his consorts as often as they need it. __Chekiath is Harry in dragon form and Harry is Chekiath in human form.__"_

All four humans stared at each other in shock. No one knew that any dragons were listening in other than Tarianth.

Milli suddenly blushed. She recalled several times when both Bob and Sammy were too tired to continue and she wanted more. _And Harry can handle that?_ She wondered to herself. _Damn! Hermione and May are lucky girls!  
_

* * *

**Author's Notes and Mockeries:**

* Still a lot of building and scene setting in this chapter, but next chapter things will start picking up as we see some of the results of the Weyr's efforts.

* A special shout out to Timefreak who tried to convince me he had confused one of my stories with someone elses. Alyx is heading your way with a pickup truck loaded with power tools and a donkey named Pete. Don't run, resistance is futile, oh and yeah, Pete bites.

* A lot of people seem to think autonomy means a completely separate state. It doesn't. If you look at any of the Indian tribes here in the US, while they can create their own laws, they are bound to abide by federal law and cannot pass a law which violates said federal law. They do have some additional freedoms that regular citizens do not have, but they are a part of the US as much as any other non-Indian citizen. I really wish people would stop equating autonomy as 100 percent freedom because it isn't.

* EdenAthene wants to know why Campbeltown hasn't changed it's name to Spath's Weyr. Probably for the same reason that they waited over one hundred and fifty years after George Washington's death to build the bridge in his name across the Hudson River in NY. You'll note that I never said when they changed the name, so it'll happen, but perhaps it won't happen until the end of this book.

* A lot of people want to know if anyone from the Japanese royal family will be searched as a rider. I can say with certainty that no, none of the immediate family will be selected. Will a more distant relation be selected? Maybe, I'm still writing sections and I haven't made up my mind about it. And no, that isn't a call to know what you think. My plot file contains things I need to write and things that might be nice to include. That particular nugget is in the nice to include pile.

* Dragonknight1775 next time you leave a review, please make sure it's clear what you're asking because I haven't a clue what you mean. I sent your review out to be translated and it came up with a post it note stating they can't translate drunk.

* Shiaira73, to answer your question, this story is possibly the last multichapter HP story you'll see from me. After this is complete I do have an idea for an original work that I hope will earn a few dimes and nickels along the way. All I have right now is an idea file where I've been tossing things in concerning the plot, but once I have finished this book I'll start working on that, and try to figure out how to market it online. Needless to say I have time still before I have to worry about that new tale.

* Several people wanted to see the Weyr handle the dementors, but they are forgetting that they have already seen that several times in this story line. How many times can I write about seeing dragons swoop down and snatch a dementor to take Between before it becomes old? Seriously seeing the hunt really wasn't necessary.

* Trichorse, you are right, I have thought of it already and you'll see some of it in the next chapter.

* Sleepygirl68. WAKE UP! Heh, but seriously don't be afraid to leave a review. Authors like to know what works and what doesn't. As to the Weasleys my take is simple. Do not let your personal distaste for Ron or Ginny or any Weasley to cloud your judgment. A good author can make a case for a good Weasley just as easily as a bad one. I'm notorious for knocking Dumbledore and yet, in this story he was a good guy that everyone accepted. I can read Harry/Ginny or Harry/Hermione or Harry and any other female because I don't let what I've read previously in fan fiction cloud my feelings for any character. Don't fall into that trap and you'll find Fan fiction a lot more enjoyable because you have a lot more choices.

* And FINALLY, please do not ask me to critique your "Multi-chapter epic story" if;  
- The chapters are less than 2k in size and you have 21 chapters for less than 12K words.  
- If the term Character Development and Motivation sounds like a foreign film title to you.  
- If you are writing a cross over between a well known universe and some obscure Manga drawn by a friend of yours who lives in his parent's basement.  
- If during your writing you've asked the readers what they want to see. Personally I like my readers, but I consider asking them anything to be a cardinal sin. May your soul burn forever in hell, or worse may you discover that the bulk of your readers really do want to see you write a Harry/Hagrid/Minerva story where Hagrid is a world famous sushi chef. It's your story, write it your way and don't ask the readers for input.


	5. Chapter 5

**Standard Disclaimer:**

Bob walked out onto the stage with a big box in his hands. "Do you mind telling me why you ordered 5000 athletic supporters?" he demanded.

Alyx looked up at him in confusion, she was struggling to move a large four blade airplane propeller to the corner of the room where a stack of eight propellers were slowly gouging a hole in the floor.

"Oh they finally arrived!" she exclaimed, "Put them in the corner with the other boxes."

Bob looked at the corner and saw a small mountain of boxes, all similar in size to the one he held in his hands, then he shook his head and sighed. "I know I'm going to regret asking, but you bought more than just this box of athletic supporters?"

Alyx grunted and shoved the propeller onto the stack. The floor groaned ominously and Bob moved away from that corner. He wasn't sure, but it did appear as if the stage was starting to tilt in that direction.

"Oh yes, I'm still waiting on the total shipment, they had to backorder it you know."

"Backorder?" Bob repeated weakly. "Couldn't you just write a standard disclaimer like I asked you? The readers will never know we don't own Harry Potter or the Dragonriders of Pern if you keep this up!"

Alyx shrugged. "Don't worry, after we're fabulously rich you'll be able to visit each one personally and tell them yourself. I'm sure the little buggers will be delighted to see you on their doorstep."

Bob glanced down at his outfit and noted the utility belt containing two tazers, an electric drill and a supercooled butt plug. The orange shorts and Aloha shirt didn't help either. "More like terrified," he muttered in reply. "Ok I'll bite, how are we going to become super rich?"

Alyx glared at him. "I'm going to be super rich, you are just going to have to do what I tell you so that you can hope to share some crumbs from my good fortune."

Bob's fists clenched, "Must not hit her," he said to himself while grinding his teeth, then he returned her glare. "Fess up or I'll replace your llamas with Emu's. I know you hate Emu's!"

Alyx placed both hands on her hips and glared back at him. "It's the world cup!" she stated as if no further explanation was necessary.

Bob blinked then he frowned and realized that she made him blink far too much. Too much blinking was bad for you! Just ask the people of Blink Virginia, a town that vanished in... well, a blink. "How is a soccer tournament in South America going to make you rich?"

Alyx paled dramatically. "Soccer? I thought it was the world cup! I never would have bought so many cups..." she trailed off and rubbed her chin thoughtfully for a minute. "I know, instead of cornering the market on cups, we'll market them as sling shots!"

Bob walked over to a wall and started to bang his head against it. A doorbell rang and Alyx looked up happily, "Oh goodie, another prop for my movie project!" she exclaimed.

Bob turned to the audience with a pleading expression. "Enjoy the chapter folks while I try to unload eighty thousand sling shots on Ebay. I wonder if I can sell them to Canada as Chipmunk houses?"

* * *

**Beneath Sovereign Skies**  
**Chapter 05**  
**Looming Disasters**

* * *

**Island of ****Orø, Denmark, June 1****st**** 1999...**

Harry stood silently along with his riders. He had only brought five wings with him today, there hadn't been room enough to bring the entire manned compliment of Campbeltown. Originally the plan had been to bring just one wing, but Lee had convinced Harry that five wings would have a greater impact on the media.

One hundred dragons in a nice neat line that would have made a drill instructor proud, and beside each, their rider, dressed in the formal Campbeltown uniform. Even Harry had to admit, they looked damn good. The only riders not standing with their dragons were a select group standing with Harry on the raised platform in front of the assembled press and dignitaries.

Campbeltown now boasted eighteen wings of riders broken into four divisions. Each division comprised five wings, although division four was currently short by two wings and would remain that way until after the November impression.

It still amazed Harry, they had three hundred and eighty riders. He remembered when they had less than forty riders and seemed like there were so few of them. Still, there were less than one thousand riders even if you included all five manned Weyrs.

"Are you paying attention?" hissed May quietly.

Harry blinked and shook his head. "Sorry," he mumbled. He hadn't been paying attention. This was an important day and he was woolgathering. Today was the grand opening of the very first commercial power plant. It was capable of providing the city of Copenhagen and the surrounding communities with a significant amount of electricity and it would allow the Danish government to begin the ardous task of decomissioning an aging nuclear power plant.

May smiled and edged a little closer to him. Hermione on his other side glanced over at her and smiled. She had contacted May and read her the riot act about what she was doing. May had come to realize that what they had was precious and would only work if all three of them continually made the effort needed to keep it on track.

Hermione knew she could have been selfish and take advantage of May's absence, but she just didn't have that kind of maliciousness in her makeup. As much as Harry was missing May, so was Hermione.

May had returned to the Weyr that very night despite having told Harry she would be away for a few more days. She had been tearful and genuinely unhappy with herself when she arrived home. Harry had forgiven her instantly, but that didn't stop the tear filled three way hugs that ensued.

Since that day she always made it home in time for dinner. It was a painful experience for her and a learning one for everyone as they agreed that they needed to work harder to make sure no one was taken for granted. There would still be nights away on occasion, but everyone vowed to try to make as few as possible.

Harry looked around while the speaker spoke in a language he didn't understand. An interpreter was providing a running translation for the riders, but Harry had tuned her out. He was more interested in the large building in front of him.

It was an imposing building, easily several football field lengths long and taller than the Campbeltown hangars which had been designed to house long range bombers. A pair of cooling towers loomed over the large parking lot.

The bulk of the building was filled with huge turbines that created the electricity. The actual heating chambers that produced the high pressure steam that turned the turbines only took up a small section of the building.

"I thought only nuclear power plants had cooling towers like that," Hermione observed.

Harry smiled and shook his head. "No, according to the book Sir Robert gave me, towers like that are also found at coal powered plants. You just associate their characteristic shape with nuclear plants. Besides, the design was originally modified from a nuclear power plant design."

Hermione looked at him in surprise and he chuckled at her reaction. "What? I do read the material people hand me you know."

She shook her head and stammered, but he just smiled and nudged her with his shoulder. "I'm only teasing you," he said quietly.

She returned the smile and turned back to look at an area that had been set up especially for this day. The single heating chamber lay on the back of a large flatbed truck and a crane was already attached to the chamber. One side of the chamber was opened like a door and in a little bit the several of the dragons would blast the large granite slabs with dragon fire.

Nearby four other trucks held the remaining chambers that were supposed to be installed.

The plant would use a total five heat transfer chambers to power all of the turbines. This first chamber was being used to inaugurate the plant. The remaining four chambers would be moved into position, heated and them lifted into the building over the next four days.

Today was a publicity stunt that Harry had reluctantly agreed to at the prodding of Lord Mills and Lee Jordan. Heating the first chamber so publicly like this was a reminder to the world that this plant was special, it was a clean source of energy that would produce cheap electricity for years to come.

In order to maintain safety Harry had insisted that police and private guards keep everyone back from the heating chamber while the dragons heated the rock slabs. The last thing he wanted was an accident, or worse, to occur. Outside the plant gate a small but vocal group of protesters shouted and marched in circles while the police watched.

Once the rocks were heated to the correct temperature, the door would be closed and sealed and the crane would hoist the chamber up and into the building through a huge access panel in the roof of the building.

The heating chambers were modular and designed to be removed for servicing and repair. These chambers were part of the second set built under contract by the combined efforts of BP and Exxon. The first set were still waiting to be installed at the British power plant.

Harry recalled reading that the minimum life of a heating chamber would be thirty years. The hot rocks would continue to put out heat, but the chamber itself would require maintenance and refurbishing to ensure optimal performance.

The heating chamber was a very boxy affair and no one would call it pretty, but then it wasn't designed to be pretty, it was designed to transfer heat efficiently. The walls of the chamber were extra thick because they contained nearly a mile of piping that would be filled with water. As the water heated, it would turn to steam and build up tremendous pressure that would turn the steam turbines to generate electricity.

For this installation it had been decided that dragons would heat the slabs once they were installed in the chamber, then the chamber would be plugged into the power plant. There were safety concerns about moving loaded chambers, but plans were in place to provide a dragon ferry service for the heat chambers.

Some countries were insisting on ground transportation for the chambers, which limited their size. Harry hoped that in a few years people would become accustomed to dragons moving heavy loads so that they could move them to wherever they were needed.

The speaker up on the stage stopped talking and he gestured towards the flatbed truck containing the heating chamber.

"Weyrleader, when you're ready," said the translator helpfully.

Harry nodded to the woman, then he turned to Draco who stood nearby. "It's your turn Draco," he said softly.

Draco grinned and gestured. Several of the dragons from his wing broke formation and approached the open door of the heating chamber while Sinnath leapt skyward. Harry and Draco planned this carefully. Since this was being done publicly they decided to be a little showy about it.

Multiple TV camera crews strained trying to follow the dragons on the ground and the one in the air.

Two Chinese Fireballs lead the four dragon group that stopped about thirty feet from the truck. A siren sounded and the workers scrambled away from the truck. Even the crane operator left the cab of the crane and took shelter.

Sinnath circled overhead looking to see if any people were still nearby.

"_It's all clear,"_ Sinnath called. Draco nodded and signaled to one of the workmen who sounded a siren one last time. When the siren ended both Chinese fireballs spat blue-white balls of fire in rapid succession at the chamber and the metal container filled with fire. The crowd gasped in surprise at the precisely formed balls of fire. The Chinese fireballs split away after sending roughly five fireballs each and the other two dragons stepped forward to bathe the rock slabs with a steady stream of bluish white fire. For nearly a half minute they carefully controlled their fire, then they stopped and stepped back.

Harry nodded in satisfaction at their effort. The blueish electric corona around the dragon fire meant that the dragons wanted these rock slabs to stay hot for ever. Even the lightest fire that the dragons used to heat the pebbles under their sand beds had the tell tale corona.

Inside the metal chamber the rocks glowed a bright yellowish-red. The air in front of the open door roiled and curled, warping the view of the glowing rocks within the chamber.

Sinnath landed by the truck and used his head to swing the massive metal door closed. Once the door was shut workers ran forward and sealed the door with heavy bolts. The heat was still evident by the roiling air escaping from the piping that ran throughout the chamber walls.

It would take another three days of work once the chamber was in place before the power station could start generating power from that chamber. Water had to be carefully pumped into the piping and all the air bled out of the pipes, it was only then that the steam could be used to turn the turbines.

Applause filled the parking lot. This was the first time the public had seen the dragon's fire breathing abilities and the Weyr had made a show of it. The Chinese Fireballs had been there mostly for show, but it was a show that impressed everyone who witnessed it.

Harry smiled and nodded in approval to Draco. His dragons had performed wonderfully and now the Orø plant would soon be adding it's power to the national grid. If everything goes as planned, Denmark had a plan that would see them phasing out all other power plants within thirty five years.

**The Special Committee for State Security, The Kremlin...**

The man walked over and angrily snapped off the television. It had just repeated the clip from the opening ceremony of the Orø power plant in Denmark. He turned to the Energy Minister. "You are sure of this? They are reducing their order?"

The man nervously nodded and shuffled some papers. The Special Committee for State Security officially didn't exist, but it was the most powerful organization within the Russian government. "Yes Sergei, right now it's only a minor order reduction which could be attributed to the fact that we are going into summer now. Demand tends to flucuate during the transistional months before the summer heat hits."

"But you don't think so?" pressed the Minister of the Foriegn Intelligence Service. Behind the President, he was the most powerful man in the country and everyone knew that the president was terrified of the man. No one except the president understood that the Foriegn Intelligence Service was also a front for the Russian Ministry of Magic. The FIS had been subverted back during the Stalin era when it was still the NKVD and had remained under wizard control throughout the cold war and beyond.

"No Mishka," replied the Energy minister. "I don't think so. There is always some flucuation based on seasons, but this year it is bigger than usual. I think what we're seeing is the first impact from these damned dragon powered power plants. The current Danish plan is to decommission a 650 megawatt nuclear reactor and phase in this new 750 megawatt plant. That extra 100 megawatts allows them to reduce output at one of their natural gas plants. All total we're looking at less than a one percent reduction from their summer purchases. This is the first time I can positively say these dragons have affected us. And I fear it's only going to get worse."

"Without that income our economy will grind to a halt!" exclaimed the Finance Minister. He pounded a meaty fist against the table causing the cups to rattle. Russia was heavily dependent upon its exports of natural gas and oil products to other countries. "What can be done about this?"

"Are there any of these creatures on our soil?" asked the president quietly.

"There were. We have long heard whispers about sightings of these creatures, but until recently have dismissed them as the gibbering of drunks," admitted Mishka Danakov guardily. Danakov was the Minister for Magic and knew that they once had a dragon reserve. Unfortunately he couldn't readily admit that a secret society had been raising the beasts within their territory. "Perhaps we should reexamine those reports and see if they can be located."

The president stood and looked around. "It it too early to say how bad this problem is. If we have any of these creatures perhaps we can catch some and use them to learn how to discredit the others. I know this demands action my friends, but we must be patient and cautious. It would not do to act without due consideration and deliberation. When Russia acts I want us to be able to do so from a position of power and inpunity."

"We will not be alone in our outrage Mister President. Our contacts abroad have suggested that several of the other oil producing nations are greatly concerned," offered the Foriegn Minister.

The president nodded, then he turned to the Energy Minister. "You will monitor this situation carefully. Find out how many of these plants are being built and what nations this will affect. Surely we are not the only ones that will be affected by these creatures and their damned rocks," he ordered.

Turning to Danakov, he lowered his tone. "You will seek out these dragons if they are in our territory yes?"

Danakov looked at him for a long moment, then he nodded. He knew taking this move would turn a great many of the ICW member nations against them. He would have to act and make it seem like the Russian Ministry of Magic was not involved. This was something that would have to be planned carefully, the dragons were garnering a lot of support in the ICW. It would not do invoke that ire on mother Russia.

First things first, find out if the old Russian preserve still housed dragons. It had been warded and hidden, so he'd have to send out people to find and break those wards.

**Campbeltown Weyr, August 17****th**** 1999...**

It was the sound of the phone ringing incessantly that brought Harry to a waking state.

"Hullo?" May said groggily. She listened for a moment, then abruptly sat up in bed and swung her feet over to touch the floor.

Harry lifted his head and glanced at the clock. It wasn't quite six in the morning but just from May's posture he knew something bad had happened.

"How bad?" asked May, sounding more awake.

Harry frowned and Hermione sat up in the bed.

"I see. The airports are all closed? And the roads too?"

Harry exchanged a worried look with Hermione, she nodded and slid sideways on the bed. Harry moved around her and stood up, slipping his feet into slippers and putting on a robe.

May scribbled something down on a pad next to the phone. "Yes, Hangar twenty two, Heathrow. We'll be there. Is someone sending the jump photographs?"

Harry frowned, that meant they were going to someplace they hadn't been before. This was a new technique, but one that they had worked out with the Royal Coast Guard. Someone would take a digital photograph of an area and email it to the Weyr. Providing the camera had sufficient resolution the picture would be suitable for a lone dragon to make the jump. That dragon would then transmit the live jump imagery to the Weyr and they could be on the scene of a disaster in just seconds after the first dragon arrived.

The technique had already proven itself at sea.

"Yes yes, thank you, we'll be there, don't worry," May said, then she hung up the phone and turned towards Harry. "Turkey has been hit with a heavy earthquake. Airports in the region are too heavily damaged and there's only one open road. The Turkish government is asking for international help; they are predicting thousands of deaths.

She glanced down at her quickly scribbled notes. "The Red Cross will have one hundred containers of emergency supplies at Heathrow in about two hours. As we speak trucks are already heading to the warehouses to pick them up. They are asking for our help in transporting them and rescue workers to the disaster area."

Hermione walked over and turned on the small television they kept in the bedroom. She set it to an all news channel which was airing a report on the disaster. Harry glanced over at the TV noting the wreckage and utter chaos of injured and panicked people and his expression soured. He motioned to Hermione to mute the TV and she did.

"Division three will handle the cargo lift. Division two will help transport rescue workers. Division four is two wings light and has the least experienced people. Let's keep them here as a ferry reserve in case they are needed. We'll take division one directly to the jump site and see if we can find a spot to set up and start relief efforts," he said.

Harry led division one which was made up of the most seasoned riders. Ronan had been promoted to divisional leader for Division two, Wing One. Bob Malwich had replaced Ronan as Harry's wing second.

"Dobby!" Harry called.

Dobby appeared with a pop, yawning. "Harry Potter sir?"

Harry smiled. "I'm sorry for waking you Dobby, but you remember when we practiced that disaster drill a few months ago?"

Dobby's large eyes widened even larger than normal and he nodded. "Is it time then Harry Potter sir?"

"I'm afraid so. Wake up the elves and start them moving the supplies we packed away out to the tarmac," Harry said.

Dobby nodded and vanished with a pop.

"Cheki are you awake big fellow?" Harry called through the open door of the bedroom.

"_How can we sleep with you chatting away so loudly this morning," _replied his dragon sleepily. _"Shall I wake the Weyr?"_

Harry turned to May. "Well?"

May nodded slowly, she was thinking furiously. She had been one of the prime people behind the idea of aligning the Weyr with the Red Cross for major disaster relief. But like most disasters, they never happened when you expected them and the suddenness of it caught her by surprise.

"If division one is leaving after getting the jump image we might as well. The elves can't come with us and there's several tons of firewood, food and medical supplies we need to move right away. It'll take at least two hours before Heathrow is ready for us with supplies and people to ferry," she replied slowly.

The Weyr had pre-positioned material that they could use to set up a forward working base, including tents, a small field kitchen and satellite radios to contact the Red Cross back in Britain.

May waited for a moment and wondered why both Harry and Hermione were looking at her. Then it dawned on her. "Oh," she said softly and flushed slightly. She quickly turned and picked up the phone and dialed a three digit number. "Cindy? Oh good, I thought you would have the duty this morning. Yes I know what time it is. Sound the disaster alarm, get everybody up."

She paused and listened for a moment. "Yes I understand, but this isn't a drill. There's been an earthquake; a bad one, in Turkey," May said a little more forcefully.

May paused again and they could hear a loud horn sounding across the Weyr. The same switch that sounded the alarm also activated flood lights in front of the weyr housing complex and the tarmac where the elves were placing supplies.

Harry turned just in time for Hermione to hand him a large color photo. "This just came in; they said they will continue sending an image every couple minutes."

Harry nodded and hurried to throw on his flight suit; the photo had a very limited lifespan. If he waited too long, the jump would involve time travel and he wanted to avoid that at all costs. "I'll send a jump image as soon as you let me know Division One is ready to go," he said.

All three could hear the dragon door opening in the side of their house as their dragons moved out of the build. Chekiath would wait for Harry while the others went to their assigned positions.

**Izmit, Northwestern Turkey, August 17****th**** 1999...**

Harry and Chekiath popped out of Between over a scene that Dante would have been proud of. Barely a single building was standing and fires were everywhere. Thick heavy smoke choked the air over the city and Chekiath pumped his wings hard, trying to rise above the choking smoke.

He could see stunned masses of people wandering about aimlessly below as if they couldn't comprehend the scope of the disaster that had been visited upon them. The sound of the burning buildings competed with the sound of injured and grieving people below. _Hell would sound like this,_ Harry thought to himself.

"This is bad," Harry murmured. He had never seen such devastation like this before. "Cheki we need to find an open area where we can land supplies. That field hospital they want us to move is pretty big."

"_I'm looking Harry, but there are an awful lot of hurt people down there that need help."_

Harry shivered and nodded. "I know mate but we can't help anyone until we set up a place to work from."

The dragons as a whole had a hard time with the concept of not helping people in need. In the case of the disaster below them, Harry knew Cheki wanted to go help, but one lone dragon wouldn't be able to help many. Disaster relief needed time to gear up before people could be helped, and the dragons needed their riders to help them focus on that issue. It also explained why Harry had no intention of asking the non-bonded dragons to help.

The large dragon quickly and silently flew over the ruined city. They flew for several minutes more before Chekiath said, _"There Harry, to the right, there's a large building and a big open field. It's got a stream running next to the field."_

Harry picked up the spot and eyed it through Cheki's eyes. The spot appeared to be a large sports field next to a school and it was on the edge of the city. The school appeared to be mostly intact from what Harry could see, although he doubted there was a single intact pane of glass in the entire building.

There was a major road nearby but it looked heavily buckled, it would be usable only after someone brought in some heavy equipment. On the plus side, assuming the field wasn't a field of mud, there was room for the field hospital and room for helicopters and dragons to land. The stream appeared to be nearly ten feet below the level of the field so he was hoping for a dry field.

"It's the best we've seen so far Cheki, let's land and check the ground. We need to make sure the quake didn't turn that field into a swamp."

As part of the Weyr's Red Cross disaster training, they had been taught what to expect from an earthquake. When the ground shakes, often a process called liquefaction occurs which can turn a dry field into a muddy mess in just a handful of minutes. For the field to be useful, it had to be dry and solid.

Chekiath banked hard and swooped in low across the field before flaring out and dropping lightly to the ground.

"_Feels dry and firm,"_ he announced.

Harry nodded and swung a leg over one side to slide down. He lightly dropped to the ground and looked around. He reached down and touched the ground. The field hospital needed dry ground to pound in the stakes; he was relieved to see the ground was firm and very dry. He had been worried that the nearby stream would have meant enough ground water to make the field useless.

Harry looked around, other than the school, most of the nearby buildings were little more than rubble piles and even the school had large cracks in it. He immediately ruled out using the school for anything other than a landmark. The building was mostly intact, but laced with large cracks at one end and probably very unstable.

A large group of people were cautiously approaching Harry and his dragon.

"_Harry,"_ Chekiath said in warning.

Harry stepped in front of his dragon and held up his hands. "Does anyone here speak English?" he asked, not expecting anything but blank looks.

"I do," said a soft voice.

Harry turned to see a small boy of perhaps ten or eleven step out of the small crowd. "My father teaches English at the school," said the boy, and then he waved in the direction of the badly damaged building.

The boy was shirtless, wearing only ripped pajama bottoms. A large cut on his shoulder slowly oozed blood and it was surrounded by a heavy purple black bruise and caked with plaster and mud. Harry knelt in front of the boy. "Will you tell the others that help is coming? Soon, there will be a hospital here, and food and clothing. More dragons are coming with doctors, nurses and rescue workers."

The boy nodded and turned to the others. He spoke for a bit then an older gray haired man stepped forward and said something to the boy. He turned to Harry. "He asks what can we do? Everything is gone."

Harry tried to smile reassuringly at the man. "Tell him to just wait for now. Help is coming very soon, doctors, nurses, people and machines to look for survivors. If you aren't hurt you can help us find survivors or help us organize the relief center we'll be setting up. If you are injured, just be patient, medical aid is coming as quickly as possible."

Harry knew that Chekiath could have told the people that, but this wasn't the time to introduce these people to dragon telepathy. He waited until the boy spoke to the others, then the older man turned and gestured to the crowd. He seemed to have some measure of authority because they listened intently to him then they started to move to the side.

Harry nodded in thanks to the man, and then he turned his attention back to the boy. He reached for his canteen and small first aid kit clipped to his belt. He had taken the basic first aid classes that the Red Cross taught and knew he couldn't do much, but he could clean and put a bandage on that wound until a doctor could deal with it.

"What's your name?" he asked gently.

"Malik Demir, my father is Giyas the teacher," replied Malik.

Harry nodded. "I'm going to clean that cut and put a bandage on it Malik. It's going to hurt, but we need to wash the dirt from it."

The boy nodded and looked away while Harry poured some of his water over the wound washing away the grime and plaster. Harry tried to be gentle, but Malik trembled and moaned softly from the pain.

"_It will be over soon Malik,"_ Chekiath said. _"Harry doesn't want you hurting."_

Malik turned and looked at Chekiath with wild eyes. "He spoke to me!" The surprise of the dragon speaking to him was enough to distract the boy from the pain of his injury.

Harry laughed lightly as he dabbed at the wound, then reached for a large bandage. "My friend here is called Chekiath and if you give him the chance he'll talk your ears off. He's my best friend."

"My father is my best friend," Malik replied then he closed his eyes and tried not to let Harry see his tears.

"Where is your father?" Harry asked, but he was fairly certain he already knew the answer.

"The house fell on him," Malik said in a monotone. The boy was suffering from an emotional shock as well as a physical one.

Harry felt a chill run down his back and he wondered just how many houses had fallen on people in this beleaguered city. "And your mum?"

"She works for the Ministry up in Istanbul. I hope she's not hurt."

Harry carefully taped the large gauze pad over the cut, then he peeled off his jacket and wrapped it around the boy. "You are very brave little boy and I know she's going to be very proud of you. I'm going to need your help since I don't speak Turkish. Do you mind staying with Chekiath and me for a bit?"

Malik looked up at Harry, then he looked at Cheki and nodded. He had nowhere else he could go anyway and Harry had told them to wait.

"_Harry, May is asking for jump imagery. Division one is already airborne. Divisions two and three will leave for the __air__plane place once they get word that they are ready for them,"_ Chekiath said.

"_Pass them the jump image Cheki,"_ Harry said silently, then he bent over to look Malik in the eye. "Look up there," he said pointing to an empty spot in the sky. "Help is coming, friends are coming to help you and everyone else."

Malik gasped in surprise as the one hundred dragons of division one appeared enmass. Wing one peeled out of formation and started to spiral down to where Harry stood. Harry noted that many of the dragons in his wing were carrying large bundles of wood. They would set up small fires which they would use for their small kitchen. It wasn't much and wasn't meant to replace what the Red Cross was bringing in but it would be enough for them to start passing out cups of hot soup to the survivors while others organized the field for the real help that was still assembling.

The older gray haired man approached and he spoke to the boy. After a minute Malik turned to Harry, "Mr. Aslan wants to know what they can do to help."

Harry turned to the older man, he spoke slowly so that Malik could repeat his words in Turkish. "We are the first of three groups of dragons coming to help. The next group will take an hour or two to get here and will be bringing a field hospital and rescue workers from the United Kingdom. Perhaps an hour after that, there will be another group of dragons bringing in supplies, tents, food, blankets, tools. Right now we need to prepare the field so that the tents can be set up and make space for a helicopter landing site. After that we'll need to start clearing away the rubble from the south side of the field and shoring up that section of the school," he said, pointing to the spot where pieces of the school had collapsed into the field. It was a section of the building where the cracks had grown so big that bits of the building fell onto the adjacent field. The last thing they needed would be for more of the building to collapse into the field.

The man listened to Malik for a moment nodding, then he replied to the boy. Malik turned to Harry. "Mr Aslan says he knows of a business nearby that owns a bulldozer and other heavy machines. He could take some men and see if they can bring them here."

Harry nodded gratefully. "Please, that would be a big help."

Aslan nodded and turned towards the growing crowd shouting to them. Nearly a dozen men separated from the group and trotted after the old man.

Harry watched for a moment then he turned to see May and Hermione standing nearby. Hermione held a large duffel bag with supplies needed to set up a landing marker for helicopters. "Hermione, take five riders from your wing and go over there to set up your landing site. Make sure they clean away the debris by at least one hundred feet," he ordered.

She nodded and moved back towards where the Wing two riders were standing around. Harry couldn't blame them. The scope of the disaster was daunting and even Harry couldn't see how his dragons could help these people enough to matter. "Chekiath, get them moving," Harry ordered then he turned to May. "This is way out of our league May. Lisa Turpin is our best people medic and she's not going to be able to do much more than what I did for Malik here. Find the best spot in the field and put down the markers for where the hospital will go. The same rules apply, clear away the debris, especially anything sharp. Tell Draco to get the kitchen going and set up some fires. We're going to need them when it gets dark."

May nodded and smiled at Malik who watched them all with a bewildered expression. Suddenly comprehension dawned and he looked up at Harry. "I've seen you on television," he stated.

Harry smiled at the boy, "That's right; I've been on TV a few times. Why don't you sit with Cheki and keep him company for now. I have a bunch of people to talk to, but I'm sure I'm going to need you to translate for me again."

Malik nodded and walked over to Chekiath. "Can I sit with you? You are a nice dragon right?"

Chekiath eyed the small boy for a moment, his eyes heavily streaked with green and yellow. Chekiath laid down, stretching his front paws out in front of him. _"Of course I'm a nice dragon, but all of us are nice. You can lean against my legs. And be careful of your shoulder."_

Harry chuckled, and then he turned and went over to talk to Lee Jordan. He wanted Lee to take some dragons and survey the city from the air. He knew Lee would be videotaping as much as possible and he'd also be able to show on a map where the worst spots were. Although Harry didn't see how anything could be worse than it already was. The city looked like it had been bombed.

Harry kept an eye on Chekiath and Malik as he directed his riders, but when the boy fell asleep Harry let Cheki watch over him until the medical staff arrived; then he brought a nurse over to check him out. Harry was worried that the shoulder might be broken.

He lost track of Malik after a nurse took him into the tent where they were setting up a portable x-ray machine.

For the riders this was one of the most grueling and heart breaking things they had ever done. Once the Red Cross people arrived and took over assembling the hospital and relief center, the dragons and their riders headed out into the city proper to help the search and rescue crews.

Their ability to sense people greatly hastened the search for trapped survivors. Occasionally the dragons would even get the chance to help move the rubble out of the way when the searchers thought it was safe. It wasn't uncommon to see a dragon moving a heavy beam or even lifting some large debris so that rescuers would crawl underneath it looking for survivors.

Nearly eighteen hours later Harry stumbled back into the field along with Bob Malwich. They had spent the day marking buildings that had people trapped. The day had been exhausting physically and emotionally. Despite his heavy gloves, his hands were raw and cut from tearing at loose rubble. Sometimes Cheki would stop by a house and tell him that the person inside was close to dying. He couldn't help himself then, he would tear at the rubble while shouting for others to help him. Normally he was supposed to wait for people who have been trained to extricate trapped victims.

He helped pull three people from the wreckage, but only one of them survived long enough to get medical attention. And the worst part was he would never know if the little old lady had survived or not. She was just another injury among thousands. He had lost count of the number of bodies he had seen, it was like his mind pushed it aside after the first dozen or so. He couldn't help the dead, but finding the living was something they could do.

Flood lights lit the field and the number of people astounded him. A set of tents had been set up for rescue workers to kip out in. Nearby a steady stream of military helicopters landed, unloaded rescue workers or material and loaded wounded then lifted off to head to hospitals that were in good shape.

Other than the field hospitals set up by the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, there wasn't a single operating hospital in the city of Izmit. The Red Crescent was still setting up, they had chosen a parking lot across the city which had to be cleared of damaged cars. In Harry's absence, Ronan had detailed a wing to move the cars out of the lot, and also bring in one of the four working bulldozers they had available.

Not too far from the makeshift helipad a steady stream of dragons arrived bringing containers which were quickly unloaded by volunteers from the uninjured survivors. Empty containers were then lifted by dragons to be returned for refilling. Campbeltown was moving supplies from over a dozen countries, as the scope of the disaster became known, the Red Cross asked the dragons to move more and more supplies from around the world.

The other Weyrs around the world joined the effort by moving material to central collection points where Campbeltown wings could pick them up. Harry would have asked them to help more directly, but space was limited and he already had over three hundred dragons helping in the affected region.

A veritable mountain of supplies was building up nearby and Rescue workers from ten countries handed out blankets and clothing at a frantic pace. Night had fallen and it was getting cold.

Harry averted his eyes away from the activity at the far end of the field. A temporary morgue was set up there and seemed to be doing more business than the field hospital. He had been informed in their disaster preparedness classes that as the day went on, there would be fewer injuries and more corpses. It was the grisly nature of major natural disasters.

Harry shuffled into one of the rest tents and an aid worker looked up and gave him a tired smile. "Would you like something to eat or just want a place to sleep for a bit?" asked the man.

Harry blinked owlishly at him and the man chuckled. "How about you lay down in bunk fifteen for a bit. I'll wake you in about four hours and have something ready for you to eat."

Harry nodded and let the man show him to a bunk and he collapsed into the bunk.

"_Sleep Harry, I'll be nearby,"_ Chekiath said softly.

Harry paused with his head just above the pillow. During the day he had lost track of what wing riders had been doing as they fanned out to find and mark places for rescuers to dig. "Is everyone alright mate?" he asked tiredly.

"_May and Hermione are sleeping in the other tent. Everyone is fine. Garanoth says Ronan had to order Luna to return to the Weyr several hours ago. She was quite upset."_

Harry blinked in surprise. _"Trandieth, is Luna still upset?"_ he sent silently.

"_The healer gave her a potion to sleep Weyrleader. She's sleeping now. All those hurt people upset her greatly,"_ replied the dragon up in Campbeltown.

Harry nodded to himself. Luna was a strange duck even among the riders and she had abilities that were hard to define. Her abilities with animals gave her a great deal of empathy and he could understand all the pain and hardship surrounding them upsetting her.

"Call me or Cheki if she's still upset in the morning. I'm sorry, I should have realized this would affect her," he muttered tiredly

"_You couldn't have known Weyrleader, even I didn't know it would bother her. But I'll call you if need be. Glamiath is also listening in for Jack"_

Harry nodded, Luna's Trandieth hadn't been picked as a consort yet by any dragon, but Jack Bruno's Glamiath seemed likely to win her over. Right now she was enjoying being the Weyr's free spirit too much. Jack and Luna had been together prior to their dragon's first shagging flight and it wasn't uncommon to see her with Jack.

"Right then, I'll just get some sleep," he murmured. "G'night Trandieth, Cheki."

He lowered his head against the pillow and sleep claimed him almost immediately. One of the rescue workers on a nearby bunk looked up from pulling his boots on and shook his head. "Poor bugger is talking to himself. We really need to start looking at the psychological effects disasters have on our people."

Nearly five hours later Harry woke slowly to the smell of someone waving hot coffee under his nose.

"You awake mate?" asked the man in charge of the tent. "I'm sorry to wake you, but we're short on beds and there are others that need to rest also. There's a plate with some sandwiches by the front table."

Harry sat up and nodded. "I'll be more awake after I have that coffee."

The man laughed and handed Harry the cup. He nodded in thanks and stood up. Nearby another man stood looking at Harry and the bed hopefully. He held some clean sheets in his hands.

Harry stepped away from the bed and muttered, "It's all yours," then he walked to the exit. He stopped only long enough to grab a sandwich and quickly down it.

"You awake Cheki?" he asked softly.

"_I haven't slept much Harry, it's too noisy with all the machines. I don't really like this place,"_ Cheki replied. _"There is so much hurt and unhappiness here."_

Harry grimaced and suppressed a chuckle. "I don't think anyone likes this place right now big guy even the people that grew up here. I'm sure it was much nicer before the earthquake."

"_I hope so,"_ Cheki said dubiously, _"Malik was here for a while, and then a man came by and took him away to one of the helicopter things. Malik says they contacted his mother and she would meet him at the hospital where they are taking the injured. I had May talk to Malik and get his information. He is a potential candidate when he comes of age."_

Harry nodded, he had suspected that Malik might be a possible rider candidate, but had pushed that aside. They were there to help with a disaster, not search for rider candidates. Turkey had no native dragons and there were no plans of creating a Weyr in the country. Malik would be listed in their roles and asked if he'd like to attempt impressing when he was old enough.

Harry sipped his coffee and stretched while he stood just outside of the tent. "Good enough, is there anything else?"

"_May and Hermione are off with a group that are checking out a village 20 miles from here. They were requesting help. And Lisa says that four riders received injuries trying to dig for survivors. She's sent them all back to the Weyr. The worst injury was Fred Hayes who broke his arm when a wall fell on him."_

"And the others?" Harry asked.

"_Lisa said two were bad cuts and one bad burn from a fire."_

Harry grunted sourly, burns were becoming an occupational hazard in the Weyr. A number of riders had received burns because they had gotten too close to dragons making hot rocks, or heating up other substances. Another source of burns came from part of their training which now included in-flight flaming. It was part of their defensive and weapons training. Occasionally a dragon would flame at the wrong angle and the rider would get badly singed before the dragon could correct the error.

Harry didn't bother to ask, he already knew that a rider had risked himself to rescue someone and had gotten burned for his efforts. He shook his head, but he really couldn't be angry, his own hands were cut and sore from attempting to dig people out from under the rubble. "Alright, ask Lisa to keep me informed. In the meantime I'm going over to the command tent to see what else we can do."

"_Alright Harry,"_ replied Cheki. _"Most of our wings are out helping, except for those sleeping in one of the tents."_

A large tent had been erected next to the field hospital. There were a dozen antennas sprouting from behind the tent and in front someone had rigged up a flag pole that held the Turkish national flag.

Harry grunted in acknowledgment to Cheki and stepped into the darkened interior of the command tent run jointly by the Turkish government and the relief organizations. Both the Red Crescent and the Red Cross had people present helping organize the relief efforts. A group of people were huddled over a table loaded with maps conversing quietly and in one corner a man spoke with someone using a short wave radio. Several televisions were on, but muted, playing out scenes from various locations in the disaster area. The interior of the tent was darkened and strangely quiet compared to the organized chaos outside.

Harry looked around, and then he spotted David Wilson, one of the British Red Cross representatives and the only person he recognized in the room. He stepped over to Wilson who was examining the maps with the others.

"We have to do something," someone said in a British accent. "What about the army? Can't they bulldoze a way through or something?"

Wilson shook his head. "The roadway is too unstable and the bridge is damaged. The aftershocks have damaged it even more and they are afraid to put too much weight on it. An army engineering unit is coming, but they won't be on the scene until the day after tomorrow and it will take weeks to repair the bridge if another aftershock doesn't knock it down first."

Harry stepped closer. "What's the problem?"

The men looked up in surprise and Wilson's expression turned to one of relief. "Weyrleader! Thank goodness, you and your dragons might just be able to solve our problem."

He pointed to a map. "This is the one operational road heading into Izmit. It was damaged but generally intact enough for light traffic and then an aftershock weakened it further. Now the bridge is not safe for any kind of traffic and we have a fifty truck convoy of potable water backed up on the other side of the bridge unable to proceed. The bridge isn't far, but with it being unsafe that water might as well be on the moon. We need to bring in that water, bottled water isn't adequate for all our needs."

Harry looked down at the map. "Is the road on the other side of the bridge safe for the trucks?"

"Yes, it's just this bridge that is blocking the convoy. There have been a number of aftershocks and one of the Army engineers says the bridge is in danger of collapse if we put too much of a load on it. An army engineering unit is rushing to the area that can effect repairs, but they won't be here for few days. And even when they do arrive it will take a week or more to stabilize the bridge for heavy traffic."

"_Many of our wings are already busy with rescue duties Harry,"_ Chekiath cautioned. Several of the men in the tent suddenly looked up in surprise.

Harry nodded and then he glanced towards one wall of the tent. "Cheki, is Division four still idle?"

"_Yes Harry, they are still in the Weyr."_

"Alert them. I'll be sending them jump imagery in a short while. Once that's done, meet me outside the tent and we'll follow the road until we find the convoy," Harry said.

"_I'll be right there."_

Harry turned back to Wilson and smiled. "We'll move your trucks for you."

Several men exchanged relieved looks. An older man who wore military uniform bowed to Harry. "Allah's blessing on you and your dragons Weyrleader. Turkey is grateful for your help and your friendship."

Harry bowed slightly to the man. "The Weyr is dedicated to protecting mankind sir. It is our duty and our honor to be able to help."

He turned and strode from the tent. The others seemed struck dumb by Harry's words and it was impossible to ignore the sound of huge wings flapping as Chekiath came to an easy landing in front of the command tent.

The old man turned to Wilson and gave him a tight smile. "I was skeptical when your country announced the existence of dragons. But I have heard the stories of dragons helping save lives and have seen for myself their ability to move huge quantities of material. Some nations think that Allah would not approve of such beings, but I think they are very wrong. Your nation blessed the world when you gave us such friends."

Wilson smiled at the Minister of the Interior and personal representative of the Turkish President. "Sir I couldn't agree more with you. The dragons and their riders ask only one thing in return. They want to be friends, and to be treated as equals."

The Interior Minister nodded thoughtfully. "I will tell this to my government. If I have my way, dragons and their riders will be welcome within our borders from now on."

Wilson smiled encouragingly, then he turned back to the map as the discussion turned to the more somber topic of setting up a site for a mass grave.

**Campbeltown Weyr, August ****25****th****, 1999...**

An exhausted Harry slid down from his position and dropped to the tarmac. Division one was the last group of dragons to leave the disaster zone and he was glad to be home. He looked forward to a long hot soak in his tub and an uninterrupted night's sleep in his own bed.

"Welcome home."

Harry glanced up to see Lord Mills standing nearby. "Welcome home Harry."

Harry smiled tiredly at the man. "Thanks James, but I hope you don't have any pressing business. Right now all I want to do is crawl into a bath and a bed."

James chuckled. "No, no pressing business lad, but I was wondering if you've spoken much with Lee in the past few days?"

Harry's eyes narrowed and he shook his head. "No. Should I have?"

James chuckled and shook his head. "You know Harry; you are just about the only person I know that almost never watches the telly."

Harry frowned. "James, I've been a bit busy to worry about what's on the telly."

James held up a hand placatingly. "I know lad, and your Lee has been recording every second of it and then sharing it with the world press. The earthquake was a disaster and the world viewed the disaster from the back of a dragon. We've been getting mail by the ton since Lee started sharing his video feed with the BBC. They watched as Luna had to return to the Weyr in tears, and watched when Jack Bruno pulled that infant from under the rubble. They saw your tears when one person you pulled from under buildings was dead and they saw dragons pulling carts with drums of drinking water through devastated streets. In short the world saw dragons in a whole new light and you've advanced your cause by an inestimable amount."

Harry smiled tiredly. "That's great James, and maybe tomorrow we can see how we can use the good publicity to our benefit. Right now all I want is a bath and a bed."

"Us too," Hermione said from behind him.

Harry swiveled his head and smiled at her and May. May stepped closer and looped her arm with his. "Sorry James, but I stink and I want to do something about it. Come on Harry, you're getting ripe also." Showers had been available at the relief camp, but it had been nearly three days since Harry had a chance to do more than wash his hands and face.

"And you need a shave," Hermione offered.

Harry had a tendency towards a heavy five o'clock shadow and after nearly a week without shaving he had a respectable start on a heavy beard.

Harry nodded and followed the two girls as they led him towards their quarters. James shook his head in amazement, but he couldn't fault the riders. They had spent the last week working a grueling schedule while he remained here in Scotland and saw the outpouring of world wide support for dragon-kind flood in.

The rescue effort was still ongoing in Turkey and it would take years for the region to recover, but the dragons had done their part while the world watched. James turned and headed for his office in the administration building, he still had more mail to deal with before he could present it to Harry and the others.

**Irtysh river Weyr, Central Russia, September 10th, 1999...**

Irina Clasovich settled to the ground and stepped off her broom. She stretched and looked around for a moment, just taking in the scenery. It was the bank of the Irtysh river. In this area the river had cut a path between some hills. She stood on a sandy open spot but most of the river banks were stony fields that made footing treacherous.

She listened for a moment but heard nothing to indicate any dragons, or any wildlife for that matter. She reached into her robes and withdrew a wand and cast a few spells then she frowned at the results.

According to her map, the old dragon reserve should be somewhere nearby. The Weyr was unplottable, but in the ministry records, there existed a single small map which contained its location. The Weyr had been erased from the map, but since the map covered such a small region it was possible she could find the wards by doing random spot checks like she was doing now. This was her twentieth casting of the morning.

She cast a stronger sensor spell and it immediately pinged back, signaling there was a heavily warded area nearby. She frowned at her wand, as one of the Ministry of Magic top warding specialists she was unused to getting such a vague reading from her detection spell. There was a ward was nearby, but the spell failed to show a direction. Only the most powerful wards could confuse her sensor spell like this.

Small specks appeared over the hilltop and made their way towards her at high speed. The Ministry wanted to locate the old reserve and they wanted desperately to capture several dragons. The fact that there was a large warded area nearby suggested that the dragons were still here, now it was Irina's job to find them and break down the wards.

She was still casting when twenty more wizards arrived on broom and came to a landing nearby. She nodded to the lead Auror of the ten man squad, then she turned to her assistant. The aurors were armed with weapons similar to strangler globes which the ministry hoped would allow the small force to subdue the beasts.

Originally the plan had been for a force of more than two hundred Aurors, but the ministry felt that a force that size was too easily detectable.

"Katarina, we're going to need to set up a ritual circle. There is a warded zone nearby, but it's obviously unplottable."

"Da Senior Warder Clasovich," replied the small blond woman.

Irina smiled, Katarina was close to becoming her apprentice, she had a lot of talent, but her taste in men was the only thing holding Irina back from taking her under her wing. She preferred her apprentices female and willing bed partners.

Irina turned to the Aurors. "Senior Auror, there is a heavily warded area nearby. I think we are very close to the original site of the reserve and there are dragons here still. Warn your men to be cautious and to keep an eye out, the ability to apparate means the dragons can be on us without warning."

The Auror nodded gravely. He had two different jobs here and he didn't like that. He was supposed to capture some dragons, his men had been practicing with the weapons for that purpose, and his second task was to protect the Ministry's best warding team. The ministry didn't have many ward breakers and these were the very best mother Russia had.

Katarina stepped over to a flat stretch of sand along the river and began to cast the spells needed to prepare the area for a ritual circle.

Feynith turned towards Chekiath. Both dragons sat on a nearby hilltop while Harry observed the wizards below. A few feet away from the two senior dragons sat Ronan and the other divisional leaders of Campbeltown.

"_This is troublesome Weyrleader,"_ Feynith observed.

"_It is,"_ Harry replied silently. He scowled heavily, it was obvious that the wizards were getting ready to make an attempt at the wards. This was a problem that he had been expecting for a while, but now that it was upon them, he wasn't sure what do to about it.

"_What should we do Weyrleader? We can take them Between,"_ Feynith offered.

"_No, I don't think I want us to kill if we can avoid it,"_ Harry replied. _"__If we kill these, they will be back in greater numbers."_

"_Weyrleader, Ronan says his __wing__ has spotted __eight__ Russian fighters about one hundred miles from here,"_ Garanoth announced.

"Damn," Harry swore under his breath, then he sent a command to the dragons. _"Division leaders, let's return to Irtysh where we can discuss this."_

The group of dragons leapt skyward and vanished in a blast of frigid air while the unsuspecting Russians continued to work down on the riverbank just a few hundred feet from the Weyr.

A few moments later Harry slid down from his spot on Cheki and walked over to where the division leaders were congregating.

Harry turned to Ronan. "What's this about Russian fighters?"

Ronan nodded. "I don't think it's a coincidence Harry. A group of Mig-31 Foxhounds are doing lazy circles as if they are waiting for something. These things cost too much money to be up there for a early morning flight. From what I saw I think they are fully armed for air to air combat."

Harry looked down and dug a toe into the dirt while he thought about that.

"It's possible," he said slowly, as if he was still ordering his thoughts. "that the jets are there to support the wizards. If that's the case then the Russians are finally making a move against us. How long would it take for those jets to arrive?"

"On after-burner, just a few minutes," Ronan replied.

Harry nodded and glanced around the Weyr. All around there were the dragons of Irtysh river Weyr watching him and listening intently.

Harry sighed and then he turned to Feynith. "Feynith, if we attack those wizards we risk starting a conflict with Russian mundane government. I don't want to start a war with anyone if we can avoid it."

He bent down and scooped up a stone which he sent flying towards the nearby river. It was obvious to everyone that he was angry. "Damn I hate to do this, but I think the smartest thing to do is to evacuate the Weyr."

Feynith bowed his head, _"Are you sure Weyrleader? We have lived here for many turns. __This is our home.__"_

Harry walked over to the large horntail and gently ran a hand along his neck. "My friend, you know we would not hesitate to fight for your right to live here. But this is not the time for that fight. Someday perhaps you'll be able to return here. In the meantime the Weyrs will help your clan get settled in a new home."

Harry paused and smiled as he remembered something. "In fact I might have just the place already picked out. If all goes well you'll find yourself jumped to the top of the list to become a manned Weyr."

Feynith turned to stare at Harry in amazement and a number of the local dragons reared up on their hind legs and trumpeted their happiness. All of the unmanned Weyrs wanted to transition to manned Weyrs, but they also realized it wasn't as simple as just bringing riders to live with them.

Converting to a manned Weyr took searching for candidates, and setting up proper housing, it took money, time, training and supplies. The money was becoming easier by the day as the manned Weyrs earned their keep, but searching could only be done by bonded riders and dragons and the Weyr needed approval from the country where the search was taking place.

Irtysh River Weyr had always been far down on the list of Weyrs to transition to a manned one because Harry knew they wouldn't easily get the approval of the Russian government. Harry had hoped that tensions with Russia would have eased by the time they were ready to search for riders here.

Now it was necessary to remove the Weyr from Russia, and that opened them up to take advantage of an opportunity that he had to turn down just a month prior.

Harry smiled at the happy dragons. "We'll go to Campbeltown for now. I have some phone calls to make."

Just over a mile away Irina Clasovich paused in her preparations. It was impossible to miss the sound of so many dragons bellowing.

"On guard!" shouted the lead Auror. His team scattered looking for cover while he motioned for Irina and her small team of warders to mount their brooms and flee.

Irina frowned and shook her head. "Nyet," she spat. "We will finish this."

The lead Auror swore to himself then nodded unhappily. He signaled his men to scan the skies for dragon attack, then he reached for the strange machine he had been given. It was ultra-simple. Just a single button on a small cigarette pack sized box with a two inch long antenna. He was told that pressing the button would summon the muggle military.

He stabbed the button and then he joined his men, watching the sky.

Nearly one hundred miles away six MIG fighters turned and engaged their after-burners.

**Campbeltown Weyr, September 10th, 1999...**

Harry came out of Between over the Weyr. Chekiath bellowed and the Irtysh River Weyr dragons fell into a loose formation behind him.

"_Feynith you and your clan can follow me down,"_ Chekiath called.

"_Thank you Chekiath,"_ replied the senior Russian dragon.

"Cheki, is Albert Ford in the Weyr today?" asked Harry.

"_Norendrath says he's in a meeting with Smelly Dog, Sheep Guy and some people from Turkey hold,"_ Cheki replied.

Harry smiled at his dragon's words. The first time they called a country a hold it created a lot of confusion, but by now the riders were used to the dragons and their insistence to apply Pern terms to Earth. On Pern there were Holds like Benden and Fort which in turn had smaller holds within them, owing allegiance to the Lord Holder. Here, there were still Lord Holders even if they were called Presidents and Prime Ministers and to the dragons, their country was just a hold like Fort or Bol or Ruatha.

"Please ask Albert to contact me when he has a chance," Harry asked. He didn't want to break into what Albert was doing. The delegation from Turkey had arrived on a fact finding mission about the possibility of replacing some of the damaged power stations with dragon powered power stations. It was an outgrowth of their effort to help Turkey after the disastrous earthquake.

"_Of course Harry."_

He slid down from his position and walked over to where Dronth waited with Feynith. "Dronth, we'll put up Irtysh River here for a while. If all goes well, I hope we'll have a place to move them to. We'll need to reschedule our search to cover more territory so you might want to let Trandieth know about that."

Harry smiled reassuringly at Feynith who watched Harry with wide eyes. _"Searching for... us?"_ asked the large dragon.

"If we can arrange it Feynith. Finland had been talking to us about the possibility of having a manned Weyr and I had to brush them off. Now you need a home and they want a Weyr. At the time I didn't have the dragons to offer them nor did I think you would run into this problem so I had to put them off."

He paused when his mobile phone rang, and then he held up a hand to the large dragon while he answered it.

"Hello?"

"Al, good. Listen can you contact your friend in the Finnish Ministry?" he asked.

"Yes I know what we told them, but I had to relocate the Russian Weyr and now they need a home. Finland wouldn't be all that different than what they are used to."

Harry paused and listened for a moment longer.

Harry shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "Look Al I'm not trying to make your job harder. When we told Finland no, it was because we didn't have the dragons to establish a new Weyr. That changed today. I had two options, evacuate the Weyr or start a war with Russia. I had Russian ward breakers attacking our wards and flight of Russian fighters backing them up. What would you have me do?" Harry asked plaintively.

There was a moment of silence from the phone, then Al spoke in a calmer tone. Harry listened for a moment and smiled. "Excellent Al, I'll leave it in your hands until we're ready to move Irtysh."

Harry pressed a button on the phone and placed it in the bulky belt holder then he turned back to the two dragons. "Albert Ford is a great help to the Weyr, but he dislikes surprises," he said with a smile. "With a little luck you and your clan will have a new home to move into soon Feynith. For now, Campbeltown welcomes you, please accept our hospitality. Tinny!"

Tinny, the head elf appeared with a small pop. "You called Mister Harry?"

"Yes please speak with Dronth and Feynith and help them get set up. We'll need to erect those temporary shelters we bought."

The little elf nodded vigorously, causing his ears to flap.

"I need to call a Weyrleader's council," Harry muttered mostly to himself.

"_Go Weyrleader, Tinny and I will see to Feynith and his clan,"_ Dronth said.

Harry nodded absently and started to walk away, his mind already considering the Weyr's next steps.

"_The Weyrleader doesn't stay still for long does he?"_ observed Feynith.

"_He wouldn't be Weyrleader if he stood still,"_ Dronth replied. _"Come Feynith, let us see to your clan."_

**Irtysh River Weyr, Central Russia, September 10th, 1999...**

Irina Clasovich dropped to her knees in exhaustion. She wearily looked at her team and shook her head in amazement. Most of her warding team were unconscious, drained nearly to death, but they had succeeded.

The last hour had been the most dangerous as the wards snapped and crackled with power. The Aurors had been expecting the dragons to attack during that hour, but no attack materialized.

In the distance she could make out the last disintegrating wards of the Weyr, crumbling before her eyes. The wards were incredibly powerful and it had taken her whole team helping to bring them to this point. Even from this distance she could smell the thick ozone and brimstone smell of a failing ward.

"Team one forward!" shouted the senior Auror nervously. There had been no response from the dragons and that made him uneasy. It had taken four solid hours of effort from the warders to break down those wards and except for the sound of dragons bellowing many hours ago, there had been no sign of dragons.

Irina watched as four aurors cautiously moved forward while the others covered them and the warding team. Overhead the four pair of fighters circled lazily, watching and waiting for the dragons to take to the air. They were eagerly waiting for an opportunity to engage with a dragon, confident that their superior technology would prevail.

A member of team one ran back to the senior Auror and spoke to the man in an urgent tone. The senior auror grimaced and glanced at the warding team then he strode up the hill in the direction that team one had gone.

"What is it Mischka?" asked one Auror to the team one member.

"The dragons, they are gone, fled the reserve."

"Nyet!," Irina Clasovich groaned and closed her eyes. She didn't even feel herself hitting the ground as she slipped into unconsciousness, her last thought was a simple exclamation of _'all that work for nothing!'._

**Weyrleader's Council Meeting, Campbeltown Weyr, September 11th, 1999...**

Harry waited until all of the Weyrleaders had filed into the room, then he nodded to Sirius who opened a different door to allow Albert Ford and Lord Mills to enter. There were five manned Weyrs now and the Weyrleaders filed in followed by their seconds looking surprised at Harry's call for an emergency meeting.

Harry nodded in greeting to the others then he looked over at Hermione who was setting up a dicta-quill to record the meeting. She glanced up at him and smiled to signal she was ready. It was part of her job to keep an official record of these meetings. After each meeting she condensed the meeting decisions down into a list for Harry to add to his to-do book.

"Thank you all for coming. I know this wasn't our regularly scheduled meeting but believe me when I say it was necessary for us to meet. I have also invited Lord Mills and Albert Ford to attend this meeting. Lord Mills as the British liaison and Albert because I feel his insight would prove useful," Harry stated calmly.

He paused and waited for a moment. English was the language that they used for these meetings, but he knew that in at least two cases, dragons were supplying translation help to their riders. Isikara Yuko of Sakushima Weyr and Alfhild Gustavson of Svartvatn Weyr were both still working on improving their understanding of English.

When they nodded, Harry continued. "Yesterday I was forced to order the evacuation of Irtysh river Weyr from central Russia. Feynith contacted me when the Weyr patrol spotted a group of broom riders criss-crossing the region as if they were looking for something. Shortly after we arrived at the Weyr, the Russian wizards were busy setting up a ritual to drain the wards after detecting the wards."

Harry turned to James and Albert. "Wards are a form of magical protection, but like a wall or a fence, they can be detected even if you can't see what they are protecting. The Russians detected the presence of the wards, and not the Weyr proper. And once they detected the wards, a team of wizards started to tear them down."

The Weyrleaders were a mix of mundane and magical, but they all understood that draining the wards which protected each Weyr was a hostile act.

Harry paused and ran a hand through his hair in frustration, he absently noted the angry looks among his Weyrleaders. "Had it been only wizards we might have tried to scare them off, but weren't alone. There was a flight of Russian fighter jets nearby. Rather than risk creating an incident with Russia I ordered the Weyr to evacuate to Campbeltown. Shortly after we evacuated, the fighters arrived and took up station near the wizards according to the dragon we left to watch the area."

Lobsang leaned forward in his chair, his brow knitted in concern. "Can Campbeltown support the additional dragons?"

Harry sighed and shook his head. "For a short time we can. Irtysh river brought some two hundred and ninety additional dragons. I've spoken with Karen this morning and she's placing orders for additional livestock, but we're not prepared to support the extra mouths for long. Fortunately we may have a solution to the problem of what to do with Irtysh River dragons.

"Last month I spoke personally with Paavo Lipponen, the prime minister of Finland and told him there was no way we could arrange to create a manned Weyr in his country at that time. That was then and Irtysh River was supposedly secure then. Now things have changed and we have nearly three hundred dragons that need a new home. That's why I asked Al to attend today's meeting. A month ago the conditions were against opening a manned Weyr in Finland. If the Finnish government is still willing, we can move the dragons in and begin a search in time for the November hatching."

"Harry?"

"Yes Al?"

Albert Ford popped open a small folder and glanced down at it briefly while he spoke. "I spoke this morning with the Finnish Ambassador to Great Britain and sounded him out on the idea. He was surprised at first, but once I made him aware of what had happened he immediately cabled his superiors. Prime Minister Lipponen is still eager to open up a Weyr in his country. He has a site already in mind, but asks for some of our people to come survey the site and tell them what they need to do to make it usable. From what I understand it's located in North Karelia and would share space with a small commercial airfield called Joensuu.

"I haven't seen the sight myself except for a handful of photos, but I have been told that the airfield is adjacent to a heavily wooded area and the government is willing to allow the Weyr to expand into that area. They are willing to put up some five thousand acres for the Weyr, and more could be made available if necessary."

Albert stood and unrolled a large map of the region with the proposed site circled. Harry noted it wasn't that far from the Russian border.

Harry nodded. "Excellent Al, speak to Draco about taking a hop over there to survey the site. I'll speak to Luna today about beginning a search for candidates."

Al Ford grinned returned to his chair to make a note in his file.

"What's your read on the Russian's Al? You've dealt with them before." asked Skip Taylor, one of the Condron Weyrleaders.

Al frowned and leaned back in his chair and glanced over at Harry who nodded encouragingly. "Russia and the Russian mindset appears to most westerners as hard to fathom, but if you understand their history you would understand that they have a deep seated need to defend their lands. They have been victims of external attacks that they have barely beaten back several times. And at great cost to themselves I might add. Both Hitler and Napoleon cost the Russians dearly, it was a lesson they've taken to heart. Because of that they are willing to do whatever it takes to defend themselves even if that means attacking first."

Al paused and pulled his pipe from his pocket. He didn't light it, but instead used it almost as if he needed a pointer. It was an inside joke of the Weyr, that Albert Ford never actually smoked the pipe that he carried. "We know that the dragons do not represent a threat on a national scale to anyone. We don't have an army of dragons and even if we did, the world would not sit by idly and allow us to conquer some nation."

"_We wouldn't do that!"_ Chekiath said in outrage. Several other dragons bellowed outside in outrage.

Harry chuckled softly. "Easy Cheki, Al is just trying to illustrate a point. Go on Al," he said.

Al nodded. "If we look at this from a slightly different angle everything changes. We can appear to be a threat to the oil and natural gas selling nations like Russia and Saudi Arabia. I have heard some grumblings coming from OPEC circles about the Danes who reduced their natural gas imports from Russia by slightly less than one percent.

"One percent didn't seem like much when I first heard about it, but another source within the Danish ministry told me that amounted to nearly a quarter billion Euros savings over a three year period. The Danes are excited about their new power plant and are accelerating the construction of new plants. Two new plants are planned to be built this year in their country and they have contracted to build one in Germany. Additionally they are looking to close down one aging nuclear plant and two gas fired plants. My sources tell me that closing those additional gas plants will decrease their dependency on Russian gas by three percent."

Skip shook his head. "This is getting confusing."

Harry turned to Skip. "The more plants that are built, the less natural gas and oil Russia and the other OPEC nations can sell. That threatens the Russian economy as much as any invasion would," Harry said quietly. "I don't know how much Russia relies on those exports, but I know they spent a lot of money to build a special pipeline into Western Europe. If enough countries switch over to Dragon power it could push them into economic ruin."

Albert Ford nodded in approval. "So you do see the problem?" he pressed.

"I do," Harry admitted, "and frankly I don't see a solution to it as long as the Russians are hostile to us. If they weren't so against us, we'd be willing to work with them to help them through this problem."

Al grunted softly, he had to agree with Harry. If there was a solution it would have to wait until Russia wasn't hostile to dragon-kind.

"Weyrleader?"

Harry turned to Alfhild. "Alf, please, it's just Harry."

The tall Norwegian grinned, he had a blindingly white smile and an infectious laugh that made him very popular among his riders. "Harry," he said a bit haltingly. "We, no I, would like to offer to train up the first wings for Finnish Weyr. They are neighbors no? It would relieve Campbeltown of the need."

Harry glanced around and saw that no one had any objections so he raised the only possible point of problem for Svartvatn Weyr. Everyone knew Alf was talking about the training that occurred after the new wings were released by the Weyrling masters at Disko.

"Are you sure you'll have space Alf? I thought you were having problems with housing?" Harry asked.

Alf brushed one of his long blond locks from his face and grimaced slightly. "Is true, but situation is getting better. We have lots of machines and people building good strong buildings with many dragon beds. Dragons don't like the noise, but they do like their sand beds and their Gilligan's Island on television."

The other Weyrleaders grinned at each other. Dragons had a love of classic television and invariably they seemed to become fascinated with the old Gilligan's Island show from the 1960s. Even Maziang was taking advantage of it now that they owned one of the first truck portable power generators.

Svartvatn's other issues had been overcome with the construction of a huge dock to offload construction equipment and a ferry. As an island it wasn't developed at all prior to creating a Weyr there, the Norwegian government built the dock and a road inland to the Weyr, they had been eager to convert the Weyr to a manned Weyr. In fact it had been the Norwegian government's offer to build the dock and road that convinced Harry to allow the Weyr to be established. Normally Harry wanted a Weyr that had easy access to local towns so that the Weyr could purchase supplies. Once the island had that small port built, they had their access.

The Weyr had the characteristic military look with it's blocky barrack-like buildings, but they were suitable and there was plenty of space to add the dragon friendly designed apartments.

The Svartvatn ferry at first had provided easy access for the construction workers and building supplies, but a few intrepid individuals had constructed businesses and homes near the dock and a small town was springing up around the small port facility, supplying the Weyr with goods from the mainland and keeping the construction workers fed. One construction company helped expand the town by building temporary housing for its workers.

Svartvatn was starting to generate it's own income stream by supplying a steady stream of heated rocks for use in specially designed space heaters and small generators. The Weyr was already working closely with the Norwegian Coastal Service and had participated in several search and rescue missions.

Norway's first Hot Rock powered power station was under construction, but was still more than a year away from being ready. All in all, Svartvatn was exactly where Harry had hoped it would be, at the start of what would be a long and prosperous life.

"I don't see a problem with it Alf," Harry said, "once the trainee wings are released by Hagrid they can split their time between Svartvatn for training and getting established at Joensuu," Harry said. He was thankful for Alf's offer because Campbeltown was already slated to provide similar services to the other United Kingdom Weyr, Shetland Island.

Given it's location and proximity to a World Heritage site, it had been decided to relocate that Weyr from Mousa island to the big island of Shetland, just south of Leebiten. In fact, Campbeltown had purchased the farm that had been the spot were the HMS Orkney had been laid to rest. Buying several more of the surrounding farms gave ample space to the dragons, and a place for Campbeltown to plan and build a new Weyr.

Harry turned to Lord Mills next. "Lord Mills, by now no doubt you've informed your Prime Minister of what transpired. I would appreciate it if we can get some information from your government. Specifically I am concerned with Joensuu's location. The proposed site is less than fifty miles from the Finnish/Russian border. Once the Weyr goes public, will we risk reprisals from the Russians? Should I ask Minister Lipponen for a site further from the border? Should we warn the Fins about the friction with Russia?"

James hastily scribbled some notes down as he listened to Harry, then when he was done he looked up. "Fifty miles doesn't seem like much to a dragon who can go from London to Tokyo in less than a minute, but it is a considerable distance in diplomatic terms. Any Russian sizable incursion to a depth of fifty miles would be seen by the Finnish as an act of war," he said thoughtfully. "You are asking the right questions, which unfortunately I can't answer. I will say this, when I spoke with Prime Minister Blair this morning he was greatly relieved by your actions. I can easily see him making some inquiries for the Weyr. Shall I coordinate with Albert?"

Harry glanced over at Ford and slowly shook his head. "No, Al is swamped with commercial negotiations and Weyr agreements. I'm glad he was able to use his contacts to see if Finland will accept us, but he's got enough to keep him busy. I will personally handle this until I can turn the Weyr over to an approved Weyrleader, also I'll speak with Sirius about visiting Joensuu and setting up a patrol even before it's manned," Harry replied slowly.

Albert Ford shot Harry a grateful look, he was very busy and wasn't looking forward to dealing with these additional issues since they mainly dealt with Weyr security.

"Very well Harry, I'll contact the Prime Minister's office and see if we can get you some answers," James said.

Harry smiled in thanks and turned back to other Weyrleaders. "This latest development is troubling. Check your commercial contracts, lets make sure Russia isn't being supplied with any dragon products. I think we should add them to the prohibited list."

The prohibited list was very short, and well known. It currently contained only a handful of countries that were openly hostile to dragons. Iran, Iraq and North Korea led off the list when Harry first created it. Since then only one other country had been added to the list, Saudi Arabia. The existence of the list was met with dismay by some world governments and outrage by others. The Weyrleader didn't add to that list without a valid reason. Harry's response to the outrage was simple. The Weyrs would not have anything to do with countries that made public proclamations of hostility.

James looked up in alarm. "Er, Harry? Are you sure you want to take that step?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't see what choice we have James. There were wizards and fighter planes involved and working together yesterday. That says the Russian government was making a move on us."

"You don't know that for sure," James protested. Placing Russia on the list of prohibited countries would be a provocative move on the Weyr's part.

"_Actually he does Sheep Guy,"_ Chekiath interjected. _"As we evacuated the weyr yesterday those planes turned and headed straight to Irtysh river."_

Harry gestured towards James. James' expression soured, he knew Chekiath couldn't lie, so he had to accept the dragon's statement. The presence of the fighters could have been a coincidence, but to alter course and head straight to the Weyr said it was a coordinated effort. He made another notation to stress the seriousness of the situation to the Prime Minister.

Lobsang leaned forward in his chair. His Weyr was prospering, supplying dragon heated rocks to China and other dragon products to India and southeast Asia. "Weyrleader, the safety of our dragons and riders must come first. I agree with the prohibition of goods to Russia. However at some point we should get together to decide how a country can be removed from the list. I do not believe it can be as simple as accepting someone's word although it pains me to say that. In my country a man's word was a measure of his honor, but it seems that countries operate on different rules."

Harry smiled at his fellow Weyrleader. Lobsang was a lot like Harry, growing up as a strong leader. He nodded and glanced over to Hermione who had already recorded Lobsang's suggestion. "I think that's an excellent idea Lobsang, let's make that an item for our next meeting. I hate putting countries on that list and really hope that someday we can remove them from the list."

He paused and looked around. "Does anyone have anything else to add?"

"I do," Kat said quietly. "I think it's important that you order the Irtysh river dragons to avoid their old hunting grounds and Weyr."

Harry looked at the co-leader of Condron and slowly nodded. It made sense and he didn't want a dragon returning to the old region which could result in an incident. "Feynith, have you been listening in?" he asked. He was certain the Irtysh river senior dragon was on the roof with Cheki and Dronth.

"_Yes Weyrleader, is it your command that we not return to our old homes and hunting grounds?"_

Harry sighed and he leaned against the table. He glanced around at the sour expressions on the other Weyrleaders. No one liked putting restrictions on their friends and he was the only one that could. The other leaders recognized that Harry held the absolute loyalty of the dragons. It was a rare thing for Harry to invoke his absolute authority and he only did it when he felt he had no choice in the matter.

So far Harry had only over-ridden a Weyrleader once and that had been when the Condron Weyrleaders were bickering among themselves shortly after the weyr had been established.

Harry rubbed his chin silently for a moment longer. "I'm sorry Feynith, but I don't see anyway around this. We do not want to fight the Russians. In a matter of weeks you'll have a new home to move into and soon after that, riders of your own," he said tiredly.

There was a long moment of silence that confused the non-riders in the room as the three senior dragons conversed among themselves.

"_It has been our home for many many turns Weyrleader. But the promise of riders is worth the sacrifice. Irtysh river does not wish to be the cause of conflict,"_ Feynith said finally. "Perhaps in the future Irtysh river can be a Weyr again. It is a good place to Weyr."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and Harry relaxed against the table. "Thank you Feynith, please pass the message to your clan to avoid the old hunting grounds and Weyr. Soon you will have your own Weyr again, and riders of your own. Thank your clan for me."

Harry turned to the others. "Thank you for coming today," he said quietly. "Your support and advice is very important. This is the main reason why we have the Weyrleader's council."

Skip Taylor looked up from where he was helping Kat shrug into her flight jacket and shot Harry a wide grin. "Hey Harry, we may get the big bucks, but you're still the quarterback calling the plays."

Lobsang chuckled softly and shook his head. He liked the American Weyrleaders, but he really didn't understand them very well. "My strange friend speaks truly Weyrleader. In a way I consider us blessed, you want our advice and help. Another might want to keep all authority to himself."

The others nodded in agreement. Harry set policy for the Weyrs at a very high level and allowed each Weyrleader control over their own Weyr. Harry blushed while the others chuckled and made ready to leave.

**The Special Committee for State Security, The Kremlin, October 5th 1999...**

"And so our projected sales are expected to be down by as much as two percent. We have offset some of that loss by offering a discount to select nations, but what was a rumor is now a trend. If this continues in twenty years it will cost more to extract the gas and ship it overseas than we will gain from the purchases," said the Energy Minister.

"And what of our Saudi friends?" asked the President.

"They report a similar downturn," replied the Energy minister. "On the other hand, we have noted both the British and American oil conglomerates taking steps to offset potential losses. The London stock exchange saw BP's stock rise by four percent when they announced a diversification effort that included a research and manufacturing contract with the dragons."

"What of the other OPEC nations?" the Finance minister demanded.

The Minister for Energy shrugged his shoulders. "Comrad... friends, you know as well as I that most of the OPEC nations are inherently our competitors, they do not willingly share much information. On the other hand I have had frequent talks with my counterpart in the Saudi government. When you filter out the religious rhetoric you get a feel that they are scared and getting desperate. Their economy relies more on oil than ours does. These new power plants could easily bankrupt them in a few decades."

The President nodded sourly and turned to his Minister for State Security. "What of the dragons that live on our soil?"

Mishka Danakov scowled. "Regrettably I believe someone betrayed us in our attempt to locate them. They knew we were coming and were prepared. The dragons have evacuated and our sources in Finland suggest they may have been given sanctuary there."

Around the room many of the minister's frowned deeply. Finland was a long time enemy of Russia. They had a long and bloody history and the Fins had turned out to be formidable adversaries. No Russian soldier wanted to fight the Fins if they could avoid it.

Danakov glanced down at a piece of paper briefly. "There has been a pronounced increase in dragon activity and while the government hasn't yet formally announced anything. I am informed that they will soon announce the creation of a 'Weyr' based close to a civilian airfield, some eighty five kilometers from the border.

"In the meantime we have arrested fourteen who we suspect of informing the dragons of our plans," Danakov concluded. Danakov would never admit that their mission had failed because the dragons spotted them coming, instead he opted to punish the teams involved by claiming they have tipped off the dragons, thus shifting the blame off him and his organizations.

The various ministers around the table nodded. They understood that the fourteen would be tried in secret and probably executed quietly to protect the State from an embarrassing public trial over what had been a secret mission in the first place.

"Might I offer a suggestion?"

All eyes turned to the Foreign minister.

"It seems to me that a problem shared is a problem lessened. We know of several countries which are not happy with the introduction of dragons and their power plants. Might we not form some sort of coalition in order to combat this problem jointly?"

The President leaned forward in his chair. "Are you suggesting we openly attack dragons?"

The Foreign minister waved his hand, dismissing the President's comment. "Not at all or at least not yet. What I am suggesting is that we can delay and perhaps halt construction of these power plants by employing subversive elements within each country's society."

Everyone turned to Danakov who held the position of Minister for State Security as well as Minister of Magic.

"A covert operation is possible, but I must warn you, we are hampered by the fact that most of our best operatives fled the country. What we have remaining are merely competent," Danakov prevaricated.

Everyone nodded knowingly, it was true across most of the ministries that with the collapse of the Soviet Union most of their best people left for better paying jobs in the private sector or fled to avoid prosecution for crimes they committed under the old Soviet government.

"But it is doable?" pressed the President.

"It is, but like my esteemed colleague suggested, co-opting others to actually perform the work will reduce our risks," Danakov replied.

The President leaned back in his chair and appeared to be thinking deeply. In fact he was listening to what he thought was his own inner monologue, never realizing that Danakov was using legilmency on him.

"Very well then, let us try that. In the meantime let us also explore the possibility of finding other nations that might be willing to join with us against this threat," the President said finally.

"I will speak with the Saudi ambassador as soon as possible," offered the Foreign Minister.

The President smiled approvingly, then he turned back to his Energy Minister. "From here on I want weekly reports on our gas exporting and sales," he ordered.

The Energy minister nodded with a bit of relief evident in his expression. He knew his job was in danger and the fact that the country was taking steps still wouldn't protect his job. He would just be another scapegoat should the situation continue to worsen.

* * *

**Author's Notes and Mockeries...**

* Well the last chapter seemed to touch a nerve among a number of people. Mostly people enjoyed what they read, but a fringe group complained that I didn't include more religions etc... I'm only going to say that the story has Hermione as a Catholic, May as a member of the Church of Scotland and Harry represents no one. So they would only converse about the two religions that the girls were involved in and the ONE religion that offered them a solution to their marriage problem.

I was born into a catholic family, went to catholic grade school taught by nuns and attended a catholic high school taught by monks. I know full well how American Catholics nod their heads at Rome and still go about living their lives the way they want to. I know full well how the church is full of old men running the show and highly resistant to change. Needless to say I am no longer a practicing Catholic, I gave it up for Lent. The idea of having someone else tell me what I should believe in and how is something I find rather offensive. I'm fully capable of thinking for myself thank you very much.

Wife Version 1.0 started off as an non-practicing Irish Catholic who a mere three years later decided to become born again. After a number of years of living with that I do think I can say from experience that even the Catholics aren't as narrow minded and prideful as a fundamentalist Christian (or a fundamentalist anything I suspect). Needless to say, Wife Version 2.0 is far superior even if she can be slightly blood thirsty at times. And who can object to dancing naked under a blood moon in the snow?

So no, this story is not going to devolve into a useless argument about religion, nor will these author's notes. The story will touch on religion only in as much as it impacts the lives of our main characters or the Weyr in general.

And finally I will make one additional comment on the topic religious reviews received. We had one reviewer, and personally I'm glad it was only one, that urged me to include Mormonism and stated I should look into it because it founded the state of Utah.

Really? I thought the federal government did that, after they forced concessions from the Mormons. More importantly if the founding of a state is the sole factor of interest, you need to wake up and look around. The Jewish, Muslim and Christian faiths have had a far more profound impact on civilization than founding of a single state. Each of those religions can proudly lay claim to helping shape our civilization, and then bow their collective heads in shame for some of the greatest human misery experienced by mankind. At times each of those religions gave great contributions to civilization and promoted great tragedy.

If all you can say, is "Look! We founded Utah!" then you need to take a deeper look at your choices.

So enough said about religion, this isn't a religious debate, it's a STORY. If you don't agree with my personal views that's fine, but I will not engage you in a debate about religion. You have a god given right to practice your beliefs in the privacy of your own home, but not even god gives you the right to force your beliefs on others.

* Abc1507 wonders if the riders pay UK income tax and if the Weyr pays business taxes on deals like helping to build that power plant in Denmark. Of course they do. Dragon Services Ltd is the front company which represents the dragons. It is a UK based company and like other UK based companies, they pay UK taxes. The riders are official residents and as such they also pay their fair share of taxes as well. The Autonomy they were granted isn't total and was never meant to be total.

* Blueberry babe, you're welcome. Did you know your image is slightly disturbing. You have this red hat on and it conflicts with your name. Weird hunh?

* Kudos to everyone one, all three of you, that found the easter egg in the last chapters disclaimer. As a reward we're shipping you each a llama. Unfortunately we can't fit it into a small envelope so expect it to arrive piecemeal. Luckily for you we've included assembly instructions and a dollar store stapler.

* Rhiance, I have managed to pull her away from the beast. I'm solidly over on LOTRO and she's started playing there as well but she still floats back to WOW on occasion.

* Disneypenguin, yes I simplified things. In this tale female dragons bond to female humans and males to male humans. I know the original canon Pern didn't even allow women to bond anything but Queens until late in the series. Since we don't have queens in this tale, the Pern style bonding wasn't needed.

* Lifespans are not going to significantly increase. We know from Pern that the dragons aged just like humans and seemed to have similar lifespans. Magic does have an altering effect on longevity and we'll probably see any group with a witch or wizard having a lifespan extended out to what would be considered wizard normal. In the case of Millicent and her two husbands, the dragons magic may extend out their lifespans to 120-130, but thats about it. Someone like Ronan and Karen who as muggles, do not use the bonding ceremony probably won't see much past 100 to 110, and that would merely be a bleed over effect from their dragon's own magic.


End file.
